Nia had overheard Troy discussing a staged gas leak. When I followed him back to our estate, he was carrying petrol and a crowbar. His mother, Chelo, urged me not to interfere; I called 999 instead. Officers arrived eleven minutes later and arrested him before he started a fire. Investigators uncovered his plan to burn our empty house for the buildings insurance, driven by business debts that had also entangled me through a personal guarantee.
Troy pleaded guilty to arson with intent to endanger life and fraud, receiving six years in prison. Nia and I moved into a small flat, where she finally had her own room. But relief could not erase one memory: eleven days earlier, I had saved security footage of him inspecting our gas supply at night. I had waited for certainty before telling anyone. My daughter’s frightened warning finally made me act on what I feared.
