Lucy woke up and smelled something good. She knew Gwen loved helping out. Lucy remembered the kiss. She looks at Luke, then thinks of Lincoln as she missed him.
She had a nightmare. Seeing Lincoln defend her and get beaten up traumatized her.
Gwen hears Lucy crying and rushed over.
"It should have been me…I should have been stronger." Lucy says.
Charity and Luke see this.
"Sweetie, you did what you could." Charity says. "Your brother is going to be all right. I know he will."
"But I just hid like a coward like my father. I love my father, but he can be a pushover." Lucy explained.
"I see." Charity said, frowning. "He doesn't sound like he has much of a spine, does he?"
"No, he usually lets us girls get whatever we want." Lucy says.
"I see." Charity says again. "And tell me about your mother."
"She's like a mama bear. She's defensive over us, especially me, due to my condition. She kinda sees me as her favorite since we both love writing, but there was a time we went out shopping and she told Lincoln to watch over us. We made a mess, me included, and he got blamed for it. Lincoln gets in trouble a lot, especially when he doesn't deserve it, like the time he took the blame for me." Lucy says.
"I know someone who can talk to these parents of yours…and they won't like it." Charity says. "Forest Miller. He's my boyfriend and Luke's best friend's father."
"Please don't tear my family apart…" Gwen begged.
"Sweetheart, if it happens, you kids will stay with me and Luke at our place. We have a lot of room." Charity says. She then steps out to call Forest.
With Lincoln, Ronnie Anne was furious with the Louds. But little does she know, things at the Loud house may not be good right now.
Forest arrives in a blue truck with the words "Royal Woods CPS" printed on both the driver and passenger side doors in white letters. He was a somewhat skinny man with reddish-brown hair
that came down to his shoulders, gentle blue eyes in the color of the ocean, and a short mustache the same color as his hair. He was in his work uniform and his son, Garrett, was with him.
Garrett is wheelchair-bound and has been since he was only two. Garrett couldn't walk. He looked a bit like his dad, but had green eyes and no mustache. He was dressed in a New York Knicks sweatshirt, jeans, and dark red Converse sneakers. Garrett was Luke's age and was in Luke's class at school. The two boys were best friends.
"Thank you both for coming here so quickly." Charity says.
"Um, Dad…" Lana says.
"Yeah?" Lynn Sr. says.
"CPS is here again." Lana says.
The father was nervous. Rita froze.
"So, what seems to be the trouble, Charity, darling?" Forest asked. Charity soon told him what he needed to know. Forest just shook his head in disbelief and started calling one of his co-workers over for her help for a surprise inspection.
The Loud sisters look nervous.
"Are we being taken away?" Leni asked.
"I literally hope not." Lori says.
"Luke's mom just had to call him. To think, I looked up to Luke." Lola says.
"I wish Lucy never met Luke." Lisa says. At that, Rita finally had enough of the girls berating Lucy's boyfriend.
"If you blame Lucy or Luke for this, you'll all be grounded until Christmas next year! Understand?!" Rita snapped. The girls immediately shut up as they nodded fearfully.
Forest and his co-worker, Maya, soon came in and started their inspection.
Maya saw one of Lucy's journals. She saw it as harmless as she doesn't invade clients' private matters.
Lisa had managed to hide the cameras. Forest wrote "Chemicals located close to the baby's crib. Hazardous material." in his notebook before moving to Lori and Leni's room. He saw nothing wrong in there, just a typical teenage girl's bedroom.
Maya made her way into Luna and Luan's room. She saw instruments, books, and some other normal things. But when she came upon Comedy Fort Knox, she took it upon herself to collect it as evidence. She had it loaded into her car's trunk and back seat.
Forest then walked into the twins' room. What he saw disgusted him.
"Dangerous reptiles and possibly venomous snakes located in this child's bedroom. Rats' nests under the bed. It's possible that this half of the room hasn't been thoroughly cleaned." Forest wrote. He then saw the countless pictures of Lola on the wall in the other half of the bedroom. He then spotted a sparkly pink notebook labeled "Blackmail Plans". He took this as evidence.
He and Maya then stepped into Lincoln's room. It was also normal, unless you realize it was a linen closet. Maya shook her head in disbelief.
"The sole son of the household is forced to have his bedroom in a linen closet." Forest wrote. "A boy needs his space. And this is definitely not a place for him to grow."
The siblings look more and more nervous by the minute.
They then start inspecting the rest of the house.
"No baby gates upstairs or downstairs. Obvious hazards not pointed out. Expired food in the fridge and cabinets." Forest wrote. "Parents let their kids run the household instead of trying to do it themselves."
Soon, the inspection was complete. And Forest and Maya are not pleased.
"So?" Rita asked.
"Well, for starters, have you ever thought about baby gates for the youngest kid in the house?" Forest asked.
"No, we never really needed it." Lynn Sr. says.
"And do you know there are a ton of safety hazards in this house?" Maya asked. "Frayed wires, exposed sockets…expired food?!"
They look down.
Meanwhile, Lucy was regretting telling Charity what she said. She may have just tore her family apart.
"We found incriminating things in some of the bedrooms." Maya says.
"So, what now?" Leni asked.
"We found videotapes and a notebook full of plans for blackmail." Forest says.
The louds gasp as they see them leave
"What do we do?" Lynn asked
End of chapter