Enough Is Enough

Your account has been credited with $3,000,000.

She stared at the message, her stomach twisting. The money wasn’t a gift. It never was. She knew exactly what it was for. Another extraction. Another trip to the hospital. Another reminder of the life she was tethered to.

Her phone rang, pulling her out of her thoughts. The caller ID flashed the name she dreaded seeing: Demitri.

Ashley sighed, contemplating ignoring it, but the phone kept buzzing persistently. Finally, she answered, her tone cold. “What is it, Demitri?”

“I assume you’ve seen the deposit,” he said, his voice curt and businesslike, as always.

“Oh, I saw it,” she replied, leaning back in her chair. “And?”

“And?” he echoed, irritation creeping into his tone. “Ashley, you know what this is for. I’ve already scheduled the appointment. Be at the hospital in an hour.”

“No.”

There was a pause, heavy and charged. “What did you just say?”

“You heard me,” Ashley said, her voice steady. “I’m not coming.”

“Ashley,” Demitri’s voice sharpened, tinged with disbelief. “Don’t be ridiculous. This is important. Elena—”

“Don’t you dare say her name to me,” Ashley snapped, cutting him off. “I’ve endured this for four years, Demitri. Four years of being treated like a machine. I’m done.”

“You signed a contract,” he hissed, his frustration bubbling to the surface. “You don’t get to just decide—”

“Watch me,” she shot back, a smirk forming on her lips.

“Ashley, I’m warning you—”

“I don’t care about your warnings,” she interrupted. “You can take your money and eat it. I’m not coming.”

The silence on the other end of the line was deafening, and for a moment, Ashley thought he had hung up. But then his voice came through, low and furious.

“You will come to that hospital, or so help me—”

She didn’t let him finish. With a flick of her thumb, she ended the call, tossing the phone onto the couch beside her.

Ashley expected the phone to buzz again, but what she didn’t expect was the second alert. Her phone lit up with another message: Your account has been credited with $3,000,000.

She stared at the screen, blinking in disbelief. Did he really just double it?

A laugh bubbled out of her, unbidden and full of disbelief. “Oh, Demitri, you poor desperate man.”

She leaned back, clutching the phone like it was a trophy. Victory had never tasted this sweet. For the first time in years, she felt like she had the upper hand.

Her phone buzzed again. This time, it was a message.

Demitri: *This is not a negotiation. You know what’s at stake.”

Ashley rolled her eyes. She typed back: “And I told you, I’m not coming. Find another way.”

The reply was almost immediate.

Demitri: “You don’t get to walk away from this.”

Ashley’s fingers hovered over the keyboard before she finally typed, “Watch me.”