My neighbor stole the entire harvest from my garden — instead of screaming, I did something better to teach her a lesson.

I watched in pure terror as the men in suits walked toward my front porch.

Monica pointed directly at my front door with a smug, victorious smile on her face.

I recognized the logo embroidered on the men's jackets immediately.

It belonged to Agri-Corp, the largest agricultural conglomerate in the state.

They weren't here to negotiate or offer a fair price for Daniel's patent.

They were here to take the seeds by absolute force.

I rushed downstairs and grabbed the heavy wooden kitchen table.

I flipped it over and pushed it aggressively against the front door as a barricade.

I told Ben to take his little sister and hide inside the pantry again.

The men didn't even bother knocking on the door.

One of them swung a heavy crowbar and smashed the glass panel of my front door to pieces.

He reached his hand through the jagged glass to unlock the deadbolt.

I didn't hesitate for a single second.

I raised the heavy butt of the hunting rifle and slammed it down onto his wrist.

The man screamed in agony and pulled his bleeding arm back through the broken window.

"You have five minutes to hand over the seeds, Claire!" a voice shouted from the porch.

It was Mr. Vance, the ruthless CEO of Agri-Corp.

"If you don't give us the seeds, we will burn this house to the ground with you inside," he threatened.

I knew they were desperate enough to actually do it.

I frantically scanned the kitchen, trying to remember where Daniel would have hidden something so valuable.

My eyes landed on the ugly, hand-painted ceramic cookie jar he absolutely refused to throw away.

I grabbed the jar and smashed it onto the tile floor.

Hidden inside the broken pieces was a small, vacuum-sealed bag of dark seeds.

I held the bag up to the broken window so Mr. Vance could see it.

"I have them right here," I yelled out to the men.

Mr. Vance smiled greedily and ordered his men to step back.

"Slide them through the door, and we will walk away," he promised.

When my newborn 'passed away,' my mother-in-law leaned in and said

My Husband Left Me Alone in My Car While I Was in Labor

“You’re Dead When We Get Home,” He Snapped

I opened the deadbolt and slowly cracked the door open.

But instead of handing him the seeds, I held up a glowing red flare directly over the bag.

Chapter 5 - The Corporate Thieves