I was at work when my phone buzzed with an unknown number.
"I have your daughter. Get three million dollars ready, or you'll be collecting her corpse."
The blood drained from my face. I scrambled to pull together every cent I could.
By some miracle, I managed to scrape the money together before the kidnappers' deadline. I was about to leave to save my daughter.
Then my sister-in-law found out.
Leah Fox threw herself onto the floor, wailing at the top of her lungs.
"You promised Max Ball would get five hundred thousand for his trip abroad! Now you're handing it all to some kidnapper? What about Max?"
"He has depression! If he can't go on this trip, it'll kill him!"
My husband stood there holding the bag of cash, hesitating. "Maybe we should give this money to Max first. Sabina can wait a little longer."
——
I nearly blacked out from rage.
"The kidnappers gave us three days, and that deadline is up. If we don't pay now, they'll kill her! Do you think this is a game? You're gambling with our daughter's life!"
"Just negotiate with them," Donald Ball said. "Give them two and a half million first, ask for a few more days, and we'll figure out the rest."
"Figure out the rest? You make it sound so easy! We've already borrowed from every friend and relative we have. I sold my parents' house just to barely scrape this together."
"Where am I supposed to find another five hundred thousand? Should I sell the house we're living in too?"
"Absolutely not!"
Leah, who'd been howling on the floor a second ago, shot to her feet the instant I mentioned selling the house.
"You sell this place and where does the whole family go? You want Mom and Dad out renting some apartment? Max and I are not living in some rental. This house is off the table."
"Then give me the money. I need to save Sabina!"
Leah started crying again, turning to Donald. "When your brother died, you swore you'd take care of us. You said you'd treat Max like your own son, that you'd never play favorites. Are you going back on your word?"
Fury boiled through me. I shoved Leah hard.
"Pick your moments! This money is my daughter's lifeline. Your son wants a vacation. Can't that wait?"
Leah screamed back at me. "Wait how long? You're drowning in debt! When are you ever going to pay it off?"
"Max can't wait! He has depression. If he doesn't get this trip, he'll die too!"
"I have never in my life heard of anyone dying of depression because they couldn't go on vacation! That's not depression. That's selfishness!"
The next thing I felt was Leah's palm cracking across my face. Once. Twice. Three times. Four. Five.
Both hands swinging, she split my lip open. Blood welled in my mouth.
Donald didn't move. Didn't flinch. He just stood there, comforting her.
"Leah, Zoey Dickerson doesn't know what she's saying. I'll make the call and give you the five hundred thousand. Please stop crying."
He unzipped the money bag and started pulling out stacks of cash.
Leah reached in too. "Actually, five hundred thousand isn't enough. Max still needs to enroll in that private school. We'll need at least a million."
The bag was getting lighter by the second. Panic clawed at my chest. I lunged forward and grabbed it.
"Nobody touches my daughter's ransom money!"
In the struggle, Leah shoved me.
I stumbled backward. The corner of the coffee table caught the side of my head, and pain split through my skull. Blood poured down my face instantly.
It dripped through my fingers, and only then did Donald notice I was hurt.
He reached for me. "Oh no, honey, how'd you manage to hurt yourself like that?"
I shoved him away. "Are you blind? She pushed me!"
"If you give her a single dollar of that money, we're done. I want a divorce."
Leah dissolved into sobs again. "We're just a widow and her fatherless child. We don't deserve to live. We should've just died with your brother."
