EPISODE TWO
1207 Words
The older cashier looked between them nervously before quietly stepping away.
Lira forced herself to stay calm. “What is this about?”
The man suddenly reached inside his coat, slowly placing an envelope onto the counter.
“Your biological parents.”
Her breath caught instantly.
Nobody ever mentioned them.
Not anymore at least.
Lira stared at the envelope but didn't reach to touch it.
“They're dead,” she said carefully.
“We know.”
Silence.
Rain began falling heavily outside. The tall man pushed the envelope slightly closer towards her.
“There are matters regarding their unpaid debt.”
Lira frowned. “Debt?”
“Yes.”
“You know, I think you men have the wrong person here.”
“We don't.” He deadpanned.
Her heartbeat began to speed up.
“I was nine when they died.”
The man's expression remained unreadable.
“You're still listed as their next of kin.”
Lira slowly opened the envelope.
Documents.
Contracts.
Numbers.
Then finally,
A figure so large, her mind struggled to process it.
$148,000,000
Her vision blurred slightly.
“What…”
The word barely escaped her throat.
Her biological parents had been poor too.
Painfully poor.
So how
“How is this even possible?” she whispered.
“The debt has accumulated for years.”
Lira stared at the papers in complete disbelief.
Everything suddenly felt unreal at that moment.
The raining outside.
The exhaustion in her bones.
Everything.
“Please, this had to be some kind of mistake.”
“It isn't.”
Her hands trembled slightly.
No.
No, this couldn't be happening to her.
Not after all these years.
Not now.
“I… I can't pay for this.” She said, her voice almost turning to a whisper.
The man studied her briefly. “We know.”
Fear slowly crept into her stomach with his response.
“Then why are you men here?”
A long silence followed.
Then,
“Our boss wishes to meet you.”
Lira's chest tightened immediately, and she took an unconscious step back.
“You boss? Who's your boss?”
“The man your parents borrowed from.”
And suddenly
For the first time
Lira felt like something in her life was about to change from that moment.
____________________________________
Lira could feel them watching her.
Even after hours had passed, and she had returned to stocking shelves, even after she forced herself to focus on scanning barcodes and arranging drinks in the refrigerator, she could still feel their presence near the front of the store.
Three men.
Silent.
Patient.
Dangerous.
The envelope they had handed her was hidden beneath the counter where she had shoved it moments earlier, but the number inside it continued burning through her mind.
$148,000,000
It was impossible.
Completely impossible.
Her biological parents had died over thirteen years ago. Whatever they owed had nothing to do with her. At least that was what she kept trying to tell herself.
But deep down, fear whispered something else.
People with money don't make mistakes like this.
And men like these didn't want to be around convenience stores for no reason.
Lira stood towards the front of the shop. The tallest man stood near the entrance, while his hands calmly folded behind his back, while the other two remained seated quietly by the window.
They weren't acting impatient.
That somehow made things worse.
The old cashier besides Lira leaned closer carefully.
“What did they want?”
Lira kept scanning items.
“I don't know.”
The lie sounded weak even to her own ears.
The older woman frowned. “They don't look like the police.”
“They're not.”
That much was obvious.
Police officers didn't dress like that.
Didn't carry themselves like that either.
These men looked too controlled. Too calm.
Like violence wouldn't bother them if it became necessary.
“You should be careful,” The older cashier whispered.
Lira almost laughed.
Careful.
As though carefulness had ever protected people like her.
The automatic doors opened again as another customer entered, briefly distracting her. Lira forced herself to continue working normally despite the storm building inside her chest.
Think.
She needed to think.
Maybe if she explained properly
No.
The look in the tall man's eyes earlier already told her explanations wouldn't matter.
Around ten o'clock, her manager finally emerged from the back office.
“You're still here?” He snapped immediately. “The shelves near aisle four are unfinished.”
“I'm doing them now.”
“Well, do them faster.”
Lira bit back exhaustion and obeyed.
The man, on the other hand, remained waiting.
Watching.
Time moved painfully slowly after that. By the end of her shift, her nerves felt completely shredded.
Finally, at exactly eleven-thirty, the manager waved dismissively towards her.
“Lock up before you leave.”
Lira nodded quietly.
The older cashier had already gone home earlier, leaving her alone.
Alone with them.
Her stomach tightened.
The front doors slid open again as the three men entered properly, this time. The tallest approached the counter.
“Finished?”
“Almost.”
“We'll take you now.”
Panic flickered sharply through her chest.
“Wait.”
The man stared at her silently.
Lira forced herself to remain calm. “I need to close up the store first.”
He checked his watch briefly before nodding once.
“Hurry.”
Relief loosened her chest slightly. At least they weren't dragging her out publicly.
Lira moved quickly around the store, pretending to finish her duties while thoughts raced desperately through her head.
She needed to get away.
Now.
Before they took her whenever they planned to.
Because deep down
She knew instinctively that if she went with them willingly, her life would never return to normal again.
The realization made her hands shake.
Think.
Think.
There was a back exit near the storage room.
Employees usually use it for deliveries.
If she could slip unnoticed
Her pulse quickened.
The men remained near the entrance.
Good.
Trying to keep her movements natural, she grabbed a vis from the counter and headed towards the storage area. One of the men watched her briefly, but didn't stop her.
The moment she disappeared behind the shelves her breathing sharpened.
Now.
She dropped the box immediately and hurried through the narrow storage hallways towards the metal back door.
Please
Please let this work
Her fingers fumbled the lock again. For one horrifying second, it refused to open.
Then finally,
Click.
Lira shoved the door open and ran. Cold night air slammed into her instantly as rain soaked through her clothes within seconds. She sprinted into the alley behind the store, her shoes splashing violently through puddles.
Her heartbeat thundered painfully.
Don't look back.
Just run.
She turned sharply into another street, breathing unevenly. People around glanced at her strangely as she rushed past. Her lungs had already burned with exhaustion after working nearly sixteen hours straight.
But fear pushed her forward.
The city blurred around her beneath neon lights and heavy rain.
She needed to get home.
Needed to warn her parents.
Needed
A hand suddenly grabbed her arm.
Lira gasped sharply as she was yanked backward.
“Let me go!”
- Writer
