The Coldest Claim

Episode2: Shattered Pieces

The phone was still warm against Elena’s ear long after the line went dead.

The man who just bought your life.

The words looped in her brain like a skipping record. She looked down at her hands. They were white, her fingers locked tight around the plastic casing of her cell phone.

"Elena? Who was that?" Mia’s voice was high and thin. She was shaking again. "Was it Dad? Was it the police?"

Elena forced her fingers to loosen. She tucked the phone into her back pocket and took a deep breath. "Nobody, Mia. Just... a telemarketer. Can you believe they still call at a time like this?"

It was a stupid lie. A terrible lie. But watching Mia’s face settle, even just a little, was worth the guilt.

"We have to move," Elena said, her voice firmer now. She walked over and grabbed a stray duffel bag from the floor. "The bank... they’re taking the house tomorrow morning. We need to pack what we can carry."

"Tomorrow?" Mia’s voice broke. She looked around the massive foyer, at the shadows where the expensive paintings used to hang. "But we don't have a car. We don't have a place to go. Elena, I’m scared.

"Elena stepped forward and pulled her sister into a hard hug. Mia buried her face in Elena’s shoulder, sobbing into her shirt. Elena didn't cry. She couldn't afford to. If she started, she wouldn't stop, and right now, they needed a plan.

"I know. I know you’re scared," Elena whispered, stroking Mia’s hair. "But I’m here. I’m not going anywhere. We’re going to find a motel, and then I’m going to find a job. We’ll be okay. I promise.

"She didn't know how she was going to keep that promise. But she said it anyway.

"Go upstairs," Elena told her, pulling back. "Grab your most comfortable clothes. Leave the fancy dresses, we can’t carry them. Pack your school books and your laptop. And Mia? Check under the beds. See if Dad dropped any cash or if there’s anything small we can sell.

"Mia nodded and wiped her nose with the back of her hand. "Okay. I'll look."

As soon as Mia disappeared up the stairs, Elena slumped against the wall. She looked at her reflection in the darkened window of the front door. She looked like a ghost. She had to get moving.

The next few hours were a frantic, quiet nightmare. They didn't talk much. The only sounds were the zipping of suitcases and the heavy thud of things being tossed aside.

Elena went to her father’s study. The cops had picked it clean, but they were looking for papers and hard drives. They weren't looking for the small things. She knelt by the heavy mahogany desk and ran her hand along the underside of the drawers, but she found nothing.

She moved to the bookshelf, pulling back the leather-bound volumes. Her heart jumped when she felt something hard tucked behind a set of encyclopedias. She pulled it out.

It was a watch. A heavy, silver Rolex her father used to wear on weekends. The cops must have missed it in their rush.

"Thank God," Elena breathed.

She tucked the watch into her bra, feeling the cold metal against her skin. It felt like a heavy, ticking secret.

By 10:00 AM, they were standing on the sidewalk. Two suitcases and two backpacks. That was all that was left of the Ward family.

A white van pulled into the driveway as they walked away. Men in grey jumpsuits climbed out, carrying clipboards. They didn't even look at the two girls. They just started walking toward the front door with a set of master keys.

Elena didn't look back. She couldn't.

"Where are we going?" Mia asked. She was struggling with the wheels of her suitcase on the cracked pavement.

"To a shop I know," Elena said. "Then a motel."The pawn shop was on a street Elena had never visited. It smelled of cigarettes and old coins. A man with thick glasses sat behind a cage of bulletproof glass, bored.

Elena placed the Rolex on the counter. "I want to sell this."The man didn't look up at first. Then he saw the watch. He picked it up with a pair of tweezers, turning it over in the light.

"Where'd you get this, girlie?""It’s my father’s," Elena said, her chin up. "He gave it to me."

"Marcus Ward’s daughter, right?" The man looked at her over his glasses. "I saw the news. They say he took half the city for a ride.

"Elena felt the heat crawl up her neck. "The watch is real. Are you buying it or not?

"The man grunted. "It’s real. But it’s hot. People see a Ward wearing this, they’re gonna ask questions. I can give you two thousand."

"Two thousand?" Elena gasped. "That watch is worth twenty, at least!"

"Not today it isn't," the man said, sliding it back toward her. "Take it or leave it. I’m taking a risk just having it in my shop."Elena looked at Mia, who was standing by the door, looking at a shelf of old dusty guitars. They had no money. They had no food. Two thousand dollars was a fortune right now.

"Fine," Elena said, her voice shaking. "Give me the cash.

"She felt sick as he counted out the bills. It felt like she was selling a piece of her father’s soul. But when she tucked the money into her bag, she felt a tiny bit of the weight lift. They could survive for a week on this. Maybe two if they were careful.The motel was a dump. The carpet was stained, and the air conditioner made a sound like a dying cat. But the door locked, and there were two beds.

"Stay here," Elena told Mia. "Don't open the door for anyone. I’m going to see about work."

"Elena, don't leave me," Mia begged."I have to. If I don't get a job today, that money will be gone before we know it. I’ll be back in two hours. I’ll bring pizza.

"Elena walked for miles. She went to three different architecture firms where she’d had internships lined up.The first one didn't even let her past the lobby. "Mr. Henderson says your father’s name is bad for business," the receptionist said, not looking up from her computer. "Please leave before I call security."

The second one was worse. An old family friend, a man who had been to their house for dinner a dozen times, came out to see her.

"Elena, honey," he said, looking around to make sure no one was listening. "I’m sorry about Marcus. Truly. But I can't hire you. My investors would pull out in a heartbeat if they saw a Ward on the payroll. Try a different city. Maybe a different state."

"I have a sister to take care of," Elena said, her voice cracking. "I just need a drafting job. Anything. I’ll work for half pay."

"I can't," he said, and closed the door.

By the time the sun started to set, Elena’s feet were blistering. She had tried restaurants, cafes, even a grocery store. The moment she filled out an application and they saw her last name, the energy in the room changed.

She was the daughter of a monster. In their eyes, she was a criminal too.

She bought a cheap pepperoni pizza and walked back to the motel in the dark. Every shadow looked like the man from the house, the one who said her father owed his boss "jewelry." Every car that drove past made her heart stop.

She reached the motel and knocked on the door.

"Mia? It’s me."

The locks turned, and Mia threw the door open. She looked terrified.

"What's wrong?" Elena asked, stepping inside.

"The phone," Mia whispered, pointing at the bedside landline. "It rang three times. I didn't answer it. But then someone knocked on the window.

"Elena dropped the pizza box on the bed. She went to the window and pulled back the heavy, dusty curtain. The parking lot was empty, save for a few rusted-out trucks.

"It was probably just a neighbor, Mia. It’s a busy place.""No," Mia said, her eyes wide. "They said my name. They whispered it through the glass.

"Elena felt a chill go down her spine. The loan sharks David had mentioned. They’d found them already. How?"Pack your bags," Elena said."What? We just got here!"

"We can't stay. They know where we are. We have to move. Now.

"They hurried out of the room, Elena leaving the key on the table. She didn't care about the deposit. She didn't care about the pizza. She just needed to get Mia away from here.

They walked toward the bus stop at the end of the block. The streetlights flickered, casting long, jerky shadows on the pavement.

"Elena, look," Mia whispered.

A long, black car was idling at the curb. It wasn't a taxi. It was a sleek, expensive sedan with tinted windows. It looked like a shark in the middle of a school of minnows.

Elena stopped. She gripped the handle of her suitcase so hard the plastic groaned.

"Keep walking," Elena muttered. "Don't look at it.

"But as they drew level with the car, the back door swung open.

A man stepped out. He was tall, wearing a suit that cost more than their house. His hair was dark, his face a mask of cold, sharp lines. He didn't look like a loan shark. He looked like a king.

"Miss Ward," he said. His voice was the same one from the phone. Deep. Smooth. Like velvet over gravel.

Elena pushed Mia behind her. "Get away from us."

"You have exactly twelve hundred dollars left in your bag," the man said, ignoring her. "You have no job. No home. And the men who are looking for your father are currently two blocks away, checking every motel entrance.

"Elena’s breath hitched. "How do you know that?""I know everything," he said. He stepped closer, and the scent of expensive cologne and tobacco hit her. "My name is Adrian Blackwell. I believe we have something to discuss."

"I don't know you," Elena snapped, though her heart was thundering. "And I don't want your help."

"I’m not offering help," Adrian said. He looked at her with eyes that were as dark and cold as the night sea. "I’m offering a deal. You can get in this car and keep your sister safe, or you can stay on this corner and see what happens when those men find you.

"He stepped back, holding the door open."The choice is yours, Elena. But I’m a busy man. I don't wait.

"Elena looks at the dark street behind them, then back at the man in the suit. She sees a pair of headlights turn the corner—a black SUV, moving slowly, searching.

She looks at Mia’s terrified face.

"Get in," Elena whispers to her sister.Elena turns to Adrian, her jaw set. "If you hurt her, I'll kill you.

"Adrian’s lips curved into something that wasn't quite a smile. "I'm not the one you should be afraid of tonight.

"Elena steps into the car, the door closing behind her with a heavy, final thud. She is no longer on the street. But she has a feeling she just stepped into a much more dangerous cage.