Prologue

𝘑𝘶𝘭𝘺 25𝘵𝘩, 2021. 𝘈𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯, 𝘛𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘴. /// 3:26 𝘢𝘮.

It was the call no person would ever wish to receive.

And yet, it happened

The lamp in the kitchen is turned on, the rest of the house is dark.

A woman is grabbing the sink, her head hanging low. Flattering breaths are escaping her mouth.

The shock is showing in every of her gestures and tears are trailing her face. Next to her lies the telephone.

She can't look at it.

A teenage boy is sitting on one of the kitchen chairs. He is staring into the void, his face almost empty.

His leg twitches, he wants to get up and comfort his mom. But he doesn't know what to say.

A man hurries into the room. He is holding a jacket in one hand and his car keys in the other.

"Let's go. If we take the highway, we should be at the hospital in half an hour. Do you have your purse?"

The woman nods, she wipes away the tears only to continue crying in silence.

The boy gets up and grabs her hand, holding it firmly.

If all he can do is make sure she doesn't fall over, then that has to be good enough.

The three of them leave the kitchen.

And the house goes dark once again.

<<<

𝘈 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 1750 𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘘𝘶𝘦𝘦𝘯𝘴, 𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘠𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘊𝘪𝘵𝘺.

St. Joseph's Hospital.

An older man is walking up and down the waiting room.

The elegant suit shows that he didn't expect to be here today.

He is ranting, trying to distance himself from the pain in his chest.

"I knew something was wrong, she never is late for work! Imagine if I hadn't checked on her. She would have just lied there for God knows how long!"

His wife takes some nicotin gum out of the handbag.

Her grey hair is no longer put up neatly. Messy strands are hanging in her swollen face.

She starts chewing, holding onto the mundane.

"If I find the bastard who did this...I'll kill him."

The man is dead serious, his hands are turned to fists.

His wife looks up.

Her voice is quiet but firm. Her eyes glassy but sharp.

"Don't worry."

She huffs.

"Karma will get him."

<<<

𝘔𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦, 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦, 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘌𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩'𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘦.

A tall figure is leaning against a rock, their arms are folded.

"Is everything ready?"

A smaller shadow, a shaky voice.

"Yes, boss. We can start now."

The figure nods. An evil grin fills their face.

"Good. It's time for her to pay."