All Chapters of The Halloween Fee: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

9 Chapters

Chapter 1

The kindergarten had organized a Halloween trip to an amusement park, and the children were thrilled. As their preschool teacher, I was in charge of the senior class, and several of them were eager to try the haunted house.I wanted to refuse, afraid they would be frightened, but one of the bolder children rushed inside first. The rest immediately followed, and I had no choice but to go after them.When we later passed a small dark room, the door suddenly slammed shut. No matter how we pushed, it wouldn’t open.The children looked to me for help, and my heart tightened at my own helplessness.This haunted house had been designed especially for kids; in theory, they should have been able to open it easily.I made a quick decision and crouched down to calm them.“Everyone, this door only opens when you shout the correct password. Now, let’s see whose eyes are the sharpest and who can find the password first!”The moment I finished speaking, the children eagerly scattered aro

Chapter 2

The woman on the other end clicked her tongue again, even more impatient this time. She muttered under her breath, wondering why the door had malfunctioned again.I repeated myself urgently, telling her we had young children with us and asking her to send someone as soon as possible.“What’s the rush?” she replied in a slow, unbothered tone. “If you were so anxious, you should’ve called earlier. At this hour, the repair workers have already gone home.“If you want them to come back, you’ll have to pay for their overtime. “Three repairmen—a thousand five hundred each. Transfer four thousand five hundred to my account, and I’ll call them right away.”Her indifference and outrageous greed stunned me. “Nearly five thousand dollars? What kind of overtime repair fee costs that much?” I blurted out in disbelief.The woman let out a cold laugh.“If you don’t want to pay, then you’ll just have to spend the night with the ghosts.”She set the phone down on the table, and soon the so

Chapter 3

“But you’ve got it wrong. Tommy took the day off today to go to a party with his Papa. How could he still be in the haunted house?“Do you think I, Holly Spark, am a fool?”I suddenly remembered that Tommy had indeed taken the morning off. His father only brought him in the afternoon, claiming it was inconvenient to have Tommy around for his date.There was no time to explain. The children’s cries grew louder, and I nearly shouted back. Worried I would frighten them more, I lowered my voice as I spoke, “Mrs. Spark, this is the person who just spoke with you. Your son, Tommy, is here in my arms. He has claustrophobia, correct?“He’s already having trouble breathing. Please send someone immediately to open the door!”I spoke quickly. Silence fell on the other end of the line. For a moment, all I could hear was my own and the children’s ragged breathing.Seconds dragged by, and then Holly laughed softly.Her reaction unsettled me even more.“I already told you—pay, and I

Chapter 4

After offering what comfort I could, I finally managed to steady the situation. I didn’t dare delay any longer and immediately called the police.Then I phoned Levi’s father and asked him to inform everyone in the parents’ group to rush to the amusement park as soon as possible. His voice trembled with fear as he listened to what had happened. Only after confirming the children were still safe did he finally breathe again, then burst into furious curses at Holly.Moments later, he transferred four thousand five hundred dollars to Levi’s smart watch and told me to use it to deal with Holly for now.I hesitated for a moment. The police and the parents would need time to arrive. The fastest solution was to make Holly send someone to unlock the door.Afraid any delay might worsen Tommy’s condition, I recorded my conversation with Levi’s father.As soon as we hung up, I typed Holly’s bank account number into the smart watch and transferred the money before I called her.“I’v

Chapter 5

I no longer remembered what else Holly said afterward.All I could do was pour every last bit of strength into performing CPR on Tommy, praying he would hold on just a moment longer.A few minutes later, the police broke down the door. The doctor who rushed in behind them quickly took Tommy from my arms.Parents streamed in after them, clutching their own children and crying in the raw relief of survival.Tommy’s father, Kent Spark, stumbled inside. When he saw Tommy surrounded by doctors, he turned pale and collapsed to the floor.I sat down weakly and gasped for breath, my hands still trembling, the weight in my chest refusing to lift.The scene dissolved into chaos. After all the children were evacuated and the doctors carried Tommy toward the ambulance, I heard Holly screaming wildly beside the police car.“Why are you arresting me? I wasn’t the one who broke the door or made the kid get sick!”When she saw Kent rushing out, her eyes lit with hope. She immediately s

Chapter 6

Holly’s sobs suddenly stopped. She lifted her eyes toward Kent, her expression unreadable, and slowly pushed herself up from the floor. Pointing a trembling finger at his nose, she rasped, “Then what about you? You were supposed to take Tommy to that party today. So why did he end up in the amusement park?”Kent stiffened, guilt flickering across his face.A police officer stepped forward and said he needed to ask me some questions.I glanced at both of them — Kent tense and evasive, Holly hollowed out and dazed — then began explaining calmly.“Today was Halloween. The kindergarten planned a trip to the amusement park. Our class unanimously chose to visit the haunted house, and all the parents agreed beforehand.“This morning, Tommy did request leave, saying he couldn’t come. But in the afternoon, Mr. Spark brought him to the kindergarten, saying he had a date and it wasn’t convenient to bring Tommy along.”The moment I said that, Kent’s shoulders jerked and he lowered his he

Chapter 7

“You were the one who said you were taking Tommy to your business partner’s birthday party, so I had no doubt he couldn’t possibly be at the amusement park!“Today’s disaster is entirely because of your affair!” Holly said sharply. Then she laughed like a woman unhinged, her tone frenzied.“You said it was his wife’s birthday, and taking Tommy to a high-end party was just an excuse, right? You just wanted to see that fox!“What have I ever done to you that you would dare betray me…“How could you do this to me and our son…”The earlier outburst seemed to drain her completely. Holly slid down the wall, eyes full of despair. Once a perhaps loving couple, yet in that moment, they deflected and struck at each other like blades.---That afternoon, Kent had dropped Tommy off at school wearing a neatly tailored suit, a warm smile on his face, the very image of a successful, respectable man.But now, his suit was creased from Holly’s questions and tugging, his eyes red, his postur

Chapter 8

I felt more than saw as Holly rose to her feet, teeth clenched, swinging at me with fury.I reacted quickly, blocking her hand before it could strike.Seeing that she missed, Holly glared at me with pure venom, then twisted her arm to point at me accusingly.“How can you not be blamed? This accident with Tommy is entirely your responsibility as his teacher, and your kindergarten isn’t innocent either!“Who allowed you to take little children into a haunted house? And knowing Tommy has claustrophobia, you still brought him in?”Anger flared through me, and I no longer restrained myself. With one swift motion, I slapped Holly, who was still struggling under my hold.She froze, eyes wide in shock and outrage.“You dare hit me?”Kent stepped forward, placing himself between us.I shook my stinging hand, a sense of reckless defiance taking over.“Yes, I dare!” I snapped.“That haunted house was just a Halloween-themed attraction. It clearly stated at the entrance that children

Chapter 9

The scene had grown chaotic, and some onlookers even tried to rush forward to strike Kent and Holly. The police had no choice but to step in and restore order. Levi’s father immediately handed the smartwatch to an officer.“Officer, this contains all the recordings of Holly’s extortion, along with the transfer records: first from me to Miss Cambria, then from Miss Cambria to Holly,” he said.Holly, who had always insisted she was innocent, finally panicked. She lunged toward the officer, trying to snatch the watch, but the police restrained her.Methodically, they produced handcuffs and fastened them onto her wrists, their eyes flashing with disdain.“Mrs. Spark, you are suspected of extortion and disturbing public order. The circumstances are serious, and you are hereby placed under arrest according to the law.”With the handcuffs on, Holly finally gave up. Meanwhile, the doors to the emergency room finally opened. Doctors in white coats appeared, their faces worn and a

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