4338.209 · July 28, 2018 AD
Just a Chat
Nial Triffett kisses Jenny goodbye that morning. Says he'll be back in a couple hours—just getting details on a new job. She has no idea it's the last time she'll see him. He tells himself the same lie: it's just a consultation. The hundred thousand in cash? Suspicious but explainable. The isolated location? A bit odd. Luke's nervous energy? Probably nothing. It's just a chat. He repeats it like a mantra as he drives into the hills, as he follows Luke toward the cottage door. Sometimes "just a chat" is the last thing you'll ever say.
July 28, 2018. Nial Triffett kisses his wife and son goodbye.
He's been drowning in debt for twelve months. Suppliers won't return calls. His business is collapsing. Then Luke Smith calls with an offer: one hundred thousand dollars in cash for a job that needs doing in days.
Every instinct screams it's wrong. The timeline is impossible. The amount is absurd. The location is remote. But when you're desperate, you stop asking if something's right and start asking if you can live with it.
Nial tells himself it's just a chat. Just looking at plans. Not committing to anything.
He drives into the Collinsvale hills repeating those words like a prayer. Just a chat. Just a chat. Just a chat.
Three chapters. One impossible choice. Everything Nial thinks he knows about the world is about to shatter.
