Chapter 2: The Question of Authority
The woman kept recording.
Daniel stood beside the SUV with his hands visible, careful not to give her a reason to claim he had threatened her.
He could feel the tension spreading through the otherwise quiet neighborhood. A curtain shifted in a nearby window. Somewhere down the street, a lawn mower continued running.
The woman finally lowered her phone.
“You’re making a mistake.”
Daniel shook his head.
“No. I’m asking a simple question.”
She glared at him.
“What?”
“Show me that you’re allowed to control this driveway.”
Her mouth tightened.
For the first time, she did not have an immediate answer.
She looked toward the house instead.
Daniel followed her gaze.
The driveway connected the street to the garage. There was no gate, no sign, and no visible indication that it was shared property.
“You don’t have to explain anything to me,” he said. “But you can’t just decide that someone else’s driveway belongs to you.”
“I’ve lived here a long time.”
“That still doesn’t answer the question.”
Her grip tightened around the phone.
“I know how this neighborhood works.”
“That isn’t the same thing.”
She stepped closer, but Daniel stayed where he was.
The bat remained lowered.
Neither of them touched the other.
Finally, the woman pointed toward the SUV again.
“You’re not staying there.”
Daniel looked at the vehicle.
“I’ll be gone when I’m ready to leave.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“So you’re refusing?”
“I’m refusing your demand.”
That distinction seemed to anger her more than anything else.
She raised the phone again.
Daniel understood that the confrontation could now become a record of its own.
So he stopped arguing.
He took a photograph of the driveway and the house.
Then another showing the SUV’s position.
The woman watched him.
“What are you doing?”
“Documenting where I parked.”
Her expression changed.
The shouting had not worked.
The intimidation had not worked.
Now she had a choice: produce actual authority or escalate the dispute.
She slipped her phone into her handbag.
“You’ll regret this.”
Daniel did not answer.
He simply locked the SUV.
The argument was no longer about whether he would obey her.
It was about what she could actually prove.
