Chapter 4: The Betrayal
288 words
Elena’s fingernails scraped against the peeling paint of her front door, trying to claw off the neon orange eviction notice. It wouldn't budge. The text—PAY OR QUIT—stared back, mocking her. Her chest tightened, air wheezing in short, panicked gasps. She needed cash. Now.
She pulled her phone from her thrift-store cardigan, dialing the number she had sworn never to call. It rang four times before he picked up.
“Elena? I told you, it’s over.”
“I need the venue deposit back, Mark,” she said, her voice trembling but desperate. “The three thousand. I know the contract says it’s refundable if we cancel six months out. I checked the wedding deposit refund laws.”
A sigh crackled on the line. “Yeah, about that. I’m not canceling the venue.”
Elena blinked, confusing rapidly turning to nausea. “What?”
“Tiffany and I... we’re moving the date up. We’re using the slot. And the deposit. Consider it a tax for wasting two years of my life dealing with your baggage.”
“My ‘baggage’ is a dying man!” Elena screamed, gripping the phone until her knuckles turned white. “Mark, please. I’m drowning. I need a financial hardship loan or something, I can't—”
“Not my problem anymore.” The line went dead.
Elena slid down the doorframe, burying her face in her knees. The grand total in her bank account was still negative. She closed her eyes, praying for the floor to swallow her whole.
The phone buzzed again in her lap. She snatched it up, hoping Mark had found a conscience.
It was Golden Horizons.
“Ms. Vance?” The nurse’s voice was clipped, bored. “Your grandfather has had another incident. He’s fallen. You need to come now.”
End of Chapter 4
