Love Burned, She Rose Unscathed

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When Maisie and Farley walked out of the building, they were still on cloud nine.

Sure, they didn't snag the fifty million jackpot, but hey, five million wasn't too shabby either!

Even if she lived ten more lifetimes, Maisie doubted she could ever earn that much money.

The mother-son duo was planning to head back to their hotel when suddenly, a pickup truck came barreling towards them.

At first, the truck seemed to be moving at a normal pace, so neither Maisie nor Farley paid it much mind.

After all, vehicles usually yield to pedestrians, right?

But as the distance between them closed, the truck unexpectedly sped up, charging straight at them.

"Mom-"

Farley was petrified, instinctively crying out for his mother.

Quick on her feet, Maisie grabbed her son and dodged out of the way. "What the hell is wrong with you?! Didn't you see us? Can't you drive?! What, are you blind, or is your head filled with water? You've got the nerve to nearly hit someone? In a rush to meet your maker, are you?!"

"We're talking compensation here, no way around it!"

Maisie, hands on her hips, positioned herself in the middle of the road and launched into a tirade.

"Just so you know, this isn't over until we say it's over! If I hadn't thought fast, we'd die right now. We demand to go to the hospital, get every test done, see if there are any injuries. And even if there aren't, that doesn't mean you're off the hook because you've caused us a serious fright."

"No matter what, you're not escaping a hefty fine for emotional distress—"

Farley immediately threw himself on the ground, starting to roll around and wail, "Mom! I'm gonna die from fright! This is too horrifying! I feel like I'm losing my mind. Is it daytime or nighttime? Why is everything pitch black before my eyes?"

The mother and son duo were perfectly in sync, a well-practiced routine.

However, the driver, donning a baseball cap, merely smirked coldly at the spectacle before

Flooring the gas pedal!

Maisie's rant came to an abrupt halt.

Farley's pupils dilated in shock.

In front of a floor-to-ceiling window, Murray overlooked the bustling street below.

Cars and people flowed like a relentless river.

Murray glanced at his watch; it had been half an hour.

Time for results, surely?

And sure enough-

Two minutes later, his phone rang.

He answered but remained silent.

On the other end, a raspy voice reported, "It's done."

Murray, expressionless, asked, "Are they dead?"

"...It's a busy area, cameras everywhere, I couldn't make another pass..."

Murray cut in, "Listen closely. You only need to answer is it a yes, or a no?"

"...They're not dead."

As expected.

Murray smiled, though his voice remained icy, "So, would you say... you failed to deliver?"

"...I'm sorry."

"Your fee is halved."

"

...Okay."

After hanging up, Murray put away his phone, his gaze turning frosty as he stared out the window.

Meanwhile, the truck driver took off his baseball cap, taking a deep breath of relief.

Murray actually thought he could

buy two lives for a million dollarset

The

griver wasn't foolish enough to

risk jail for such a sum.

So, he came up with a compromise. He would hit them, but not fatally The fee would be halved, but even

then, that still meant half million

dollars in his pocket without the risk

of jail time.

Whistling smugly, he felt pretty pleased with the deal. More gigs like this would be just fine by him...

He picked up his phone, dialed a number-

"Hey, you guessed right. Murray was

indeed putting a price on those, two. Your intel's delivered.

settling this?" Content beoel.ne's

"Don't worry, you'll get your cut."

The driver grinned, revealing a set of yellow teeth.

to

we

Sure enough, a payment notification popped up in seconds-fifty thousand.

Just for a piece of information?

"Mr. Sullivan, you're quite generous."