Chapter Four: Five Days
833 Words
Five days.
That was all we had left.
The number repeated itself in my mind from the moment I opened my eyes.
Five days until strangers came to our house demanding money we didn't have.
Five days until our lives changed forever.
I stared at the ceiling for several minutes before forcing myself out of bed. My body felt heavy, as though I hadn't slept at all.
Maybe I hadn't.
When I walked downstairs, Mom was already making breakfast. The smell of toast filled the kitchen, but no one seemed interested in eating.
Dad sat in his wheelchair by the window, quietly reading yesterday's newspaper. I doubted he'd turned a single page in the last twenty minutes.
Bella was getting ready for school, humming softly to herself while tying her hair into a ponytail.
I admired her ability to act normal.
Maybe she was doing it for us.
"Morning," I said.
She smiled brightly.
"Morning! You're late again."
"I know."
"You'll end up getting fired."
I laughed.
"I don't think one late morning will get me fired."
She grinned.
"Good, because then we'd have two problems."
The smile faded from my face almost immediately.
She hadn't meant it that way.
Or maybe she had.
After Bella left for school, the silence returned.
I looked at my parents.
"We have to do something."
My father lowered the newspaper.
"I know."
"No... I mean really do something."
"There has to be someone who can help us."
He sighed.
"I've asked everyone."
"What about relatives?"
"They're struggling themselves."
"The house?"
"We've already tried."
"The bank?"
"They laughed at me."
I stared at him.
"There has to be another way."
"If there were..." he said quietly, "...don't you think I would have found it by now?"
His words crushed the tiny bit of hope I'd been clinging to.
I grabbed my bag.
"I'm going to work."
Before leaving, I kissed my mother's cheek and squeezed my father's shoulder.
"We're not giving up."
"I hope you're right," he whispered.
The hospital was already busy when I arrived.
I tied my hair back, put on my name badge, and threw myself into work.
An elderly patient needed help getting out of bed.
A little boy cried every time he saw a needle.
A woman recovering from surgery thanked me for simply sitting beside her while she waited for her husband.
For a few hours, I almost forgot about the countdown.
Almost.
"Sofia."
I turned to see Dr. Marco reviewing a patient file.
"You seem distracted again."
"I'm fine."
He gave me a look that clearly said he didn't believe me.
"You've checked the same patient's chart three times."
I looked down.
He was right.
I hadn't even realized it.
"I'm sorry."
"You don't need to apologize."
He lowered his voice.
"You just need to get some rest."
"I will."
"When?"
"...Soon."
He smiled faintly.
"I'll hold you to that."
Before I could answer, two senior consultants walked past us.
"I heard he recovered faster than expected," one of them murmured.
"The man from last week?"
"Yes."
"The one with all the security."
The other doctor's expression immediately changed.
"Don't."
"What?"
"Not here."
They lowered their voices even further before disappearing around the corner.
I felt my curiosity return instantly.
They were talking about him.
The mysterious patient.
The man everyone feared.
Even after he was gone, people still refused to say his name.
What kind of person inspired that much fear?
I wasn't sure I wanted to know anymore.
By the time my shift ended, dark clouds had gathered overhead.
Rain began falling before I reached the bus stop.
Instead of going straight home, I got off the bus in the city centre.
There was one last thing I had to try.
The bank.
I knew the answer before I even walked through the doors.
Still, I couldn't live with myself if I didn't try.
An hour later, I walked back out into the rain.
The loan officer had been polite.
She had listened carefully.
Then she'd gently explained that there was no possible way I could qualify for a loan anywhere close to one million pounds.
I thanked her anyway.
As I stood on the pavement, rain soaking through my coat, I realized just how hopeless our situation had become.
There wasn't going to be a miracle.
There wasn't going to be a last-minute rescue.
We were running out of time.
When I finally reached our street, I slowed to a stop.
Across the road, parked beneath a streetlight, sat a black SUV.
Its windows were so heavily tinted that I couldn't see inside.
For a long moment, it remained perfectly still.
Then...
The engine started.
The SUV drove away without a sound.
A chill ran through me.
Maybe it was just a coincidence.
Maybe someone had simply been parked there.
But as I unlocked our front door, I couldn't shake the feeling that someone had been watching our house.
And somehow...
I knew they would be back.
- Writer
