Chapter 11 - The Final Transmission
Curiosity got the better of me. I plugged my headphones into the phone and tapped play.
The audio was muffled, accompanied by the background hum of a car engine and frantic breathing. It was Dad’s voice. But it wasn't the angry, booming voice from my porch three weeks ago.
It was trembling. Terrified. Completely broken.
*"David... if you're getting this, don't delete it. Please. You have to listen to me."*
There was a ragged gasp, followed by the faint sound of Mom crying in the background.
*"We made a terrible mistake. Not just about Emma... about everything. Jessica... she lied to us, David. The police were at our door this morning. She didn't use that mortgage money for her boutique business. She was involved with some people... offshore investments, high-interest loans. They put a lien on the house. The bank is foreclosing, David. We have thirty days to vacate."*
My breath caught in my throat. I gripped the armrest of my seat.
*"She took everything,"* Dad’s voice broke into an open, pathetic sob. *"She emptied our retirement savings account last week using the power of attorney we gave her for the Disney trip. She said she was transferring it into a high-yield travel account. She's gone, David. Her house is empty. The kids are with her ex-husband's mother, and she isn't answering her phone."*
The plane began its powerful taxi down the runway, the roar of the twin turbines vibrating through the floorboards.
*"David, we have nowhere to go. The cruise... we needed the cruise refund. We thought if we canceled Jessica’s portion, we could use the money to pay off the first lien. But the representative told us the money went back to YOUR card. David, please. That forty-two thousand is the only thing that can keep us from living in my car. Please, son. Call me. We’re sitting in the parking lot outside your empty house right now. The neighbor said they saw you load suitcases into a car. Where are you? David, answer—"*
The message abruptly cut off.
A system tone beeped in my ear: *Call ended.*
Then, the cellular signal vanished completely, replaced by the small airplane icon at the top of my screen.
The aircraft surged forward, pinning me back against the leather seat as the nose lifted into the gray sky, breaking through the heavy cloud layer into brilliant, blinding sunlight.
I looked across the aisle. Emma was glued to the window, watching the tiny houses and roads disappear beneath the clouds, a pure, radiant smile illuminating her face.
"Daddy! Look how high we are!" she shouted over the hum of the cabin, pointing down at the vanishing earth. "We're above the clouds!"
I slowly slipped the phone into my pocket.
May you like
Below us, thirty thousand feet down in a cold suburban driveway, my parents were sitting in a parked car, finally discovering the true cost of everything they had thrown away.
And for the first time in my life, I didn't turn around.
