Chapter 4 GHOSTS IN THE SOIL - THE BREAKDOWN.

Ken's parents are no more. The house isn't quiet in a peaceful way, it's painfully empty, filled with the kind of silence that makes everything worse. He's still moving through the motions of breathing, eating, getting dressed, but in reality, he's just a shell.

The place now smells like old funeral flowers and sadness. The sheriff's official report is laid on the kitchen table, blunt and coldly written that his mom and dad are dead, killed by a hit-and-run driver. The truck that hit them was reported stolen, and the driver? Gone without a trace. The cops say they're still investigating, but it feels unbelievable; and deep down, Ken knows that no one's coming, no one's finding answers.

The funeral comes and goes. Ken barely registers any of it. Neighbors show up, they say kind things, but none of it changes the fact that he's eighteen and completely alone now. The land - all 120 acres of it, are his, but it feels more like a curse than an inheritance. He's drowning in grief and debt, and he's the only one left to fight the storm.

Sharon's the only reason he hasn't completely collapsed. She's there, every day, Helping, Listening, Holding him up. When he breaks down and tells her he can't do this, she doesn't baby him. She grabs him, looks him in the eye, and tells him he has to, because now this is his fight, And she's not leaving, they're in this together.

The next day, the bank shows up. Mr. Henderson - polished, cold, clearly just doing his job, tells Ken the truth: the debt is still there, and Metzger's shady loan is the bigger problem. Insurance might help a little, but not enough. Henderson says maybe Ken should just sell the farm, cut his losses, walk away. Ken refuses. That land is everything his parents worked for. Selling it would be like erasing them.

Henderson doesn't argue. He just makes it clear: the bank will wait six months, but interest keeps stacking up. If Ken doesn't pull something off in that time, it's over.

So Ken signs. He agrees to try and do the impossible: survive a brutal Nebraska winter, replant in time, and somehow turn a profit. It feels like a deal with the devil, but it's the only option left.

What follows is a stretch of backbreaking days. Ken wakes up before sunrise, eats when he remembers to, and works himself into the ground: From farming to repairing and fixing everything he can. Most days, It's hard, it's lonely, and it feels pointless, but he had to keep going. Sharon shows up every afternoon after school, Brings food, Helps with chores,Talks to insurance reps, Keeps him sane.

Then something changes.

They're out fixing a fence when Ken watches her working and it hits him, she's not just his girlfriend anymore. She's his lifeline. He tells her how tough it would have been without her; They promise to fight together. It's not just about love anymore, It's about survival, it's their fight now;

And just when it seems like they're finding some kind of rhythm, a way to keep going, a letter shows up in the mail.

It's for Sharon. From a company in New York, A big one. Sterling Dynamics. It's a job offer, for an executive assistant role to the CEO. She's shocked. She barely remembers applying for anything like that, and even then, she was shooting for a basic internship, not something this huge.

Ken reads the letter. The salary is insane, Life-changing; and not just for her, If she got the job, she could actually help save the farm, help him pay off Metzger, Get them out of this nightmare. It's like a golden ticket, but it comes with a cost.

It's in New York, and the interview is in a week, And if she takes it, she's leaving Ken, at least for a little while, at the worst possible time.

Sharon doesn't want to go, at least not now, Not when Ken is barely standing. But Ken tells her she has to, not for her, not even for the job, but for them. This job could be the only real way out of the hole they're in. They both know it.

So she agrees, Just the interview. Nothing more. But it's a turning point, A terrifying, hopeful one. It means stepping into the unknown. It means risking the one thing they've been clinging to each other, for the chance at a better future.

As Sharon says yes, and Ken holds her like he's scared to let go, something shifts. There's still grief, Still debt, Still danger. But now there's a plan, and for the first time in a long time, there's a glimmer of something more.