By Now??

SARAH (Maid of honor)

  The rain pounded on the roof of my car like bullets. I checked the dashboard clock.

 10:15 AM.

 I was late. We were incredibly late.

 I parked in my mother’s driveway and honked the horn. Twice. Long and loud.

 "Come on, Mom," I muttered, tapping my fingers on the steering wheel. "Elara is going to kill us. We still need to get to the church."

 No answer. The front door of the house remained closed. The curtains didn't move.

 I grabbed my phone and dialed her number.

 Ring. Ring. Ring.

 I could hear the faint sound of her ringtone coming from inside the house. She wasn't picking up.

 " seriously?" I groaned, unbuckling my seatbelt. "Mom, if you are still looking for those earrings, I am going to scream."

  I grabbed my umbrella and ran through the downpour to the front porch. I didn't even knock. I used my spare key and shoved the door open.

 "Mom! We have to go! The wedding started fifteen minutes ago!"

 Silence.

 The house was too quiet. The TV wasn't on. The smell of my mother’s morning coffee was there, but something underneath it smelled wrong. It smelled like sweat. Like men's cologne.

 "Mom?"

 I walked into the living room.

  My heart stopped beating. My umbrella fell from my hand, clattering loudly on the hardwood floor.

 My mother was there. But she wasn't looking for earrings.

 She was tied to her favorite armchair with thick plastic zip ties. Her wrists were bound so tight the skin was turning purple. A strip of silver duct tape covered her mouth. Her eyes were wide, filled with tears and absolute terror.

 "Mmph! Mmph!" she screamed behind the tape, shaking her head frantically. Run. She was telling me to run.

 I couldn't move. My feet were glued to the floor.

 "Hello, Sarah."

  A man stepped out from the hallway shadows. He was holding a baseball bat, tapping it casually against his palm.

 I knew him. I knew his face, his messy hair, his arrogant smile.

 It was Jason.

 Elara’s first love. Ex-Boyfriend Number One. The high school sweetheart who broke her heart seven years ago.

 "Jason?" I whispered, my brain struggling to process this. "What... What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be in California."

 Two other men stepped out from the kitchen. They were big, silent, and wearing masks. They stood behind my mother, hands on her shoulders.

 Jason laughed. He walked closer to me, swinging the bat. "I came back for the wedding, obviously. I couldn't miss the big day."

 "Let her go," I said, my voice shaking. "Jason, look at me. This is insane. That is an old woman. Let her go!"

 "I can't do that, Sarah," Jason said, his eyes cold. "You see, you’re the problem. You’re the 'loyal best friend.' You’re the one who would call the cops if Elara went missing. So, I had to make sure you stayed busy."

 "Missing?" I stepped back. "What did you do to Elara?"

 "Me? Nothing. I’m just the babysitter," Jason smirked. "Mark did."

 "Mark?" I frowned. "Mark loves her. He’s marrying her right now."

  Jason started to laugh. It was a cruel, ugly sound. "Oh, Sarah. You really are naive. Do you think a guy like Mark—a guy with no money, no connections, and a fake degree—just happened to bump into Elara at a coffee shop?"

 He leaned in close, so close I could smell the stale alcohol on his breath.

 The world tilted. I grabbed the doorframe to keep from falling.

 "What?"

 "Yes, you heard right," Jason explained, enjoying my shock. "See, I messed up with Elara back in the day. I let a gold mine slip through my fingers. I was young and stupid. But when I saw she was single again after kicking out that loser Jax... I knew I couldn't go back. She hates me."

 He shrugged. "But she didn't know Mark. So, I sent him. I coached him. I told him exactly what she wanted to hear. 'Be humble, Mark.' 'Don't ask for money, Mark.' 'Let her build you up, Mark.'"

 Tears blurred my vision. It was all a lie. The last two years. The romance. The engagement. It was a script written by her toxic ex.

 "She trusted him," I whispered, feeling sick. "She finally felt safe."

 "And that’s why it worked," Jason grinned. "She signed everything over to him. The company. The accounts. Everything. Today, they stripped her clean. And tomorrow? Mark is a rich guy."

 "No..." I gasped. "You’re going to kill her?"

 "Loose ends, Sarah. Loose ends."

 I turned to run. I had to get to the church. I had to warn her.

 "Ah!" Jason shouted. "Don't move!"

  One of the masked men grabbed my mother’s hair and yanked her head back. He pulled out a knife and pressed it against her throat.

 My mother whimpered, tears streaming down her face.

 "Take one step out that door," Jason said, his voice dropping to a growl, "and he slits her throat. Right in front of you."

 I froze. I looked at my mother. I looked at the knife digging into her soft skin. A tiny drop of blood welled up.

 "Please," I sobbed, raising my hands. "Jason, please don't do this. We've known each other for years. Remember when Elara and will go for dinner!"

 "That was a long time ago," Jason spat. "I need this money, Sarah. Mark promised me forty percent. I’m not letting you ruin my payday."

 He pointed the bat at me.

 "Here are the rules. You sit on that couch. You don't call anyone. You don't text anyone. You wait until 1:00 PM. By then, Elara will be... gone. And Mark will be on a plane with his lawfully wedded for their honeymoon."

 "I can't just let her die!" I screamed.

 "Then your mom dies!" Jason roared. He nodded to the man with the knife.

 The man pressed harder. My mother squeezed her eyes shut, shaking violently.

 "CHOOSE!" Jason yelled at me. "Choose right now! Your best friend or your mother! Who dies today, Sarah?"

 I looked at my mom. She was everything to me. She was the only family I had left.

  Then I thought of Elara. Waiting at the altar. Thinking I was coming. Thinking Mark loved her.

 I felt my heart break into two pieces.

 I dropped to my knees.

 "Don't hurt my mom," I whispered, defeat crushing me. "Please... don't hurt my mom."

 Jason smiled. It was the smile of a winner.

 "Good choice."

 He walked over and kicked the door shut. He locked it.

 "Sit down, Sarah," he said, pointing to the sofa opposite my bound mother. "We have a long wait. Why don't you watch the clock and count the minutes left of your best friend's life?"

 “Where is Elara?” I whispered.

 Jason checked his watch and smiled.

 “By now?” He shrugged.

  “She should be dead.”