The town rebuilt stronger, side by side.
Even some of the Vipers, shamed and inspired, laid down their jackets to join in. By the time the community center opened — part school, part shelter, part sanctuary — Riverstone had been reborn.
At its heart stood Margaret Thompson, her silver hair glinting in the sunlight as she spoke to the gathered crowd: “Peace isn’t weakness,” she said. “It’s courage that refuses to die.” The engines that roared that day didn’t bring fear anymore — they sang of freedom, of unity, of a town forever changed by the quiet bravery of one woman who never forgot what real strength looks like.
