He Wanted a Fake Divorce for the Payout, I Gave Him a Real One for the Payback Chapter 08

He Wanted a Fake Divorce for the Payout, I Gave Him a Real One for the Payback Chapter 08

The basement was dark and damp, thick with the smell of mildew and urine.

I pushed the door open and walked in.

A single yellow bulb hung from the ceiling.

A man as round as a ball sat in a chair, holding a butcher knife and peeling an apple.

The peel came off in long ribbons, curling neatly down onto the floor.

That was Mickey Rourke.

Lorna was on the floor, her hair yanked into a mess, her face bruised a sickly shade of mottled purple.

When she saw me, she thrashed desperately, her eyes wide with a frantic plea for salvation.

“Clara! Help me! Please, help me!”

“So this is Clara?” Mickey lifted his head, his tiny eyes narrowing into slits.

“Not bad-looking.”

“Where’s the money?” I asked, staying by the door.

“Frozen.” Mickey tossed the apple to Lorna. “Eat. Don’t starve to death on me.”

Lorna grabbed the apple without even wiping it and started devouring it, skin and all.

“What do you want me to do?” I asked.

“Go to the bank and tell them that money is part of your brother’s estate and that you’re claiming it as an heir. Once you sign, they’ll release it.”

Mickey pointed at a document on the table.

“Sign this, and I’ll let her go.”

I glanced at the paper. It was a power of attorney authorizing Mickey to handle the eminent domain buyout under my signature.

“If I sign, you’ll really let her go?” I asked.

“I keep my word.”

I walked over and picked up the pen.

Mickey grinned, showing a mouthful of yellow teeth.

Just then, sirens suddenly wailed outside, tearing through the night.

Mickey’s face darkened instantly. “Damn it. Who called the cops?”

He shot to his feet and pointed the knife at me. “Was it you, you bitch?”

“No,” I said.

Bang.

The basement door was kicked open.

Rusty rushed in with a group of men, all carrying metal pipes and tire irons.

“Nobody move! The police are scaling the perimeter!” Rusty shouted.

Mickey panicked. He grabbed Lorna and dragged her behind him. “Stay back! Come any closer and I’ll kill her!”

Lorna screamed and struggled with everything she had.

That was when I saw Darren peek out from a small side door in the corner, his face deathly pale.

“Darren!” I called.

Darren shuddered. He looked at me, then at Mickey.

“Don’t kill me! Please, don’t kill me!” Darren suddenly rushed out and collapsed to his knees.

“Mick, the money… I know where it is. I know the password.”

Mickey froze. “You coward. Weren’t you hiding?”

“No… I wanted to save Lorna.” Darren crawled toward him. “I mean it. There’s another card for the account. I have it on me.”

Mickey’s eyes lit up. “Where?”

Darren reached into his pocket.

But what he pulled out was not a card.

It was a wrench.

He swung it hard, slamming it directly into Mickey’s kneecap.

“Ah!” Mickey screamed, and the knife slipped from his hand.

Lorna seized the chance to break free and crawled toward the wall.

Darren tried to swing again, but Mickey, fat as he was, reacted fast. He kicked Darren hard and sent him flying.

Darren crashed into the wall and spat out a mouthful of blood.

“I’ll kill you!” Mickey’s eyes went red. He picked up the knife and lunged toward him.

“Stop!”

I shouted and raised the paring knife in my hand, pressing it deep into the flesh of my neck.

“Mickey, take one more step, and I’ll open a vein.” I stared at him.

“If I die, you’ll never get that money. I’m the only one who knows how to unfreeze it.”

Mickey stopped, panting heavily. “What do you want?”

“Let Darren and Lorna go. I’ll deal with the money myself.”

“Clara…” Darren lay on the floor, staring at me with something complicated rewiring in his gaze.

“Get out!” I shouted.

Lorna dragged Darren up, and the two of them stumbled toward the door.

The second they crossed the threshold, the police rushed in.

“Don’t move! Drop the weapon!”

Mickey was forced to the ground, and the handcuffs clicked shut around his wrists.

The knife slipped from my hand.

My legs gave out, and I sank to the floor.

It was over.