Chapter 8: Digging for Dirt
320 words
War meant information, and Kendra was a general who fought dirty. Elena spent the next three days in the back of the law office, cold-calling former employees listed on wrinkled spreadsheets Kendra had dug out of storage. Most hung up. Some threatened to call the police. But one name stuck: Sarah Jenkins, a scrub nurse fired two weeks after Elena’s surgery.
They tracked her to a discount grocery store two towns over. "We need a whistleblower," Kendra had said, handing Elena a burner phone. "Get her to talk."
Elena spotted Sarah in the canned goods aisle. The woman looked terrified before Elena even spoke. "I can't talk to you," Sarah hissed, clutching a can of beans. "They said they'd kill my dog."
"He ruined my life, Sarah. Look at me!" Elena reached for her scarf, but Sarah was already backing away.
Then, the air shifted. Two men in leather jackets turned the corner of the aisle. They didn't look like shoppers. They looked like oversized jagged rocks.
"Ms. Vance," one of them rumbled. It was the security guard from the clinic. "Dr. Thorne warned you about harassment."
"I'm just shopping," Elena stammered, backing into a display of soup cans.
"You're violating a cease and desist," the man said. He lunged.
Elena turned to run, but the second man caught her arm. He didn't just grab her; he shoved her hard against the metal shelving unit. Her face slammed into the sharp edge of a price tag holder.
A sickening rip echoed in the aisle.
Elena screamed as hot liquid gushed down her neck. The impact had torn the fragile, healing tissue of her reconstruction open. Blood sprayed over the cans of tomato soup, bright and horrifying.
The thugs stepped back, sneering. "Next time, stay home, freak."
Elena slid to the floor, clutching her face, as shoppers began to scream and pull out their phones to record the bloodbath.
End of Chapter 8
