What's inside
354 Words
They didn’t stop running until they reached Ethan’s car, parked two streets over beneath a flickering streetlamp.
The rain had soaked through Clara’s sweater, the cold biting into her skin, but the adrenaline kept her moving.
“Get in,” Ethan said, unlocking the passenger door.
She slid into the seat, clutching the duffel bag like a lifeline. Ethan climbed in on the driver’s side, started the engine, and pulled away from the curb without turning on the headlights until they were well out of the neighborhood.
Only when the streets grew quieter did he speak. “We can’t go to your house. If that guy saw you, he’ll figure it out sooner or later.”
Clara swallowed. “So where are we going?”
“Somewhere safe.”
They drove in tense silence until Ethan finally turned down a narrow lane leading to a small, abandoned auto shop. He killed the engine, and the quiet that followed was deafening.
“Alright,” he said, nodding to the bag. “Let’s see what your father thought was worth dying for.”
Clara hesitated. Her hands were shaking as she tugged the zipper. The sound of the teeth sliding apart was loud in the stillness.
Inside were stacks of cash—bundles wrapped in rubber bands, more money than she had ever seen in her life. But beneath them was something else: a small black case, no bigger than a shoebox, locked with a metal clasp.
“What is this?” Clara asked.
Ethan’s gaze lingered on it, unreadable. “I think that’s the real prize. The cash might pay off part of the debt, but whatever’s in that box… that’s what everyone’s after.”
Clara ran her fingers over the cold metal clasp. “And you don’t know what’s inside?”
“I have a guess,” Ethan said. “But if I’m right, opening it could be dangerous.”
Clara’s heart pounded. “Dangerous how?”
Before he could answer, the sound of tires crunching over gravel reached them. Headlights cut through the rain-streaked window.
Ethan’s jaw tightened. “We’ve been followed.”
- Writer
