Chernobylite: A Fast-Paced Kidnap Action Thriller

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Tommy and his mother were devastated by their loss. Tommy was particularly traumatized, having never experienced a loss of this scale and because of the horror of what he had personally witnessed. The weeks after Charlie’s death were just a blur; they were both hollow from their loss, like their insides had been taken out. But Molly knew that life had to go on – she had to be strong for Tommy. She had to sort out the family property and get Tommy back to school.

Molly knew the farm was debt-ridden, that they owed more than what the property was worth. However, they had planned ahead and taken out a life insurance policy on Charlie when Tommy was born, so Molly thought they might be able to keep the farm going once the insurance payout came through.

Then the crushing news arrived in the mail that the insurance company had refused Charlie’s payout because he was killed while hunting, and hidden in the fine print of their life insurance policy was a clause that denied payments if the person died while engaging in ‘dangerous hobbies’.

With no savings and no equity in the farm, Molly had to make the tough decision to sell the property, along with her dead husband’s pride and joy, his muscle cars. With no income and no immediate family to support them, Molly was forced to uproot her young son from the place he loved and transport them to the big smoke: Sydney.

They landed in the heart of the madness that was Kings Cross, the writhing underbelly of a vibrant town where nothing was off-limits. A magnet for the desperate and the destitute, “The Cross” could at the same time be an escape and a prison – famous for its night clubs, strip joints, brothels and streetwalkers.

Molly’s cousin Judy ran a strip club in Kings Cross and offered Molly the security of a steady income and a roof over her head, working as the cleaner and on-site caretaker of the club. The job included a tiny apartment at the back of the venue, with a fold-down bed in the living room for Molly and a separate bedroom for her young son. Molly realized this was the best she could do. She knew Judy was a good person, hard-working, reliable and trustworthy and had been the only one to offer Molly a helping hand.

Molly would have preferred a different environment in which to raise her young son but felt that he would be okay, so long as she kept a close eye on him and stayed strong for him. She resolved to always put him first and resist the sometimes-overpowering urge to wallow in self-pity. With Tommy’s role model gone and without a strong male figure in their life, Molly knew she would need to be both mother and father to young Tommy.