Chapter 5: The Trash Bin Retrieval
329 words
Richard slammed the front door, the lock clicking shut specifically to let me know I wasn't welcome. The rain was torrential now, matting my graying hair against my skull. I waited until the porch light flickered off before I moved toward the garbage cans.
The stench of rotting fruit and stale coffee grounds hit me as I lifted the lid. I didn't care. I plunged my hands into the filth, pushing aside eggshells and Tiffany’s discarded fast-food wrappers. My fingers brushed against thick, textured paper—not the glossy slickness of a flyer.
I pulled it out. It was stained with coffee at the corner, but the return address was unmistakable: Vance & Associates: Industrial Litigation.
I shoved it under my coat and sprinted for the garage. It was freezing inside, damp and smelling of motor oil, but it was the only privacy I had left. My hands shook so badly I nearly ripped the contents in half as I tore the envelope open.
I expected a bill for legal services. I expected Arthur Vance to tell me the case was hopeless, just like Richard said everything in my life was.
Instead, I pulled out a single, crisp letter.
"Dear Mrs. Miller, regarding the Class Action Suit against Aether Industrial. Settlement negotiations have concluded in our favor. Amount pending final confirmation, but expect full dispersion within 48 hours."
I leaned against the cold concrete wall, sliding down until I hit the floor. Settlement reached. That meant money. Real money. Maybe enough to bury my father properly. Maybe enough to rent a studio apartment far away from here.
But I couldn't deposit a check. Richard had frozen the accounts. If he saw a deposit, he’d drain it before I could blink. I needed to talk to Vance, but I couldn't use the house landline—Richard monitored the call logs.
I looked at my empty wedding finger, then at the ring I kept in my pocket. I needed a burner phone.
End of Chapter 5
