Chapter 117

As the water began to boil, a sudden clap of thunder rumbled from outside. In an instant, all the lights in the house went out, plunging everything into darkness. A power outage? Clara quickly pulled out her phone and switched on the flashlight. She turned off the stove before heading out of the kitchen. She then tried flipping a few switches, but the power was still down. She thought of the electrical panel. Deciding to check whether the circuit breaker had tripped or if the outage was widespread, she grabbed an umbrella with one hand and used her phone's flashlight in the other as she stepped outside. The neighboring house was also dark, but she didn't pay much attention as she made her way to the yard. The electrical panel was mounted on the wall outside the main gate, higher than usual, to keep children from tampering with it. Clara struggled to see clearly due to the rain, so she brought a small stool to stand on. She noticed the switch had tripped. Thus, tilting her head