Outside, the generator kept up its steady hum.

I sat in the dark and studied the screen.

The proof was right there, recorded in kilowatts, gallons and timestamps.

I leaned in closer to the monitor, staring at the glowing line graph of late-night power use in my Texas house.

I closed the utility portal and quit the browser.

The power usage graph stayed burned into my eyes.

Eighty-dollar spikes don’t happen by accident in the middle of the night.

I opened my secure banking app and checked the balance in my emergency reserve account.