Chapter 1

My name was Lola Sinclair, a young wife from a small farming town.My husband, Dominic DeLuca, used to work at a construction site. He was honest, hardworking, and willing to take any job as long as it could keep our family fed. We had two children, a modest home, and a life that was never rich but still peaceful.Then everything changed.Dominic fell from a height at the construction site and badly injured his leg. The contractor responsible disappeared soon afterward, leaving us without compensation. Instead of receiving help, we were forced to cover nearly one hundred thousand dollars in medical expenses ourselves.Our small family fell into debt almost overnight.I wanted to leave town and find work, but Dominic could barely move around on his own, and our two children still needed care. The fields also could not be abandoned. Every day, I moved between housework, farm work, hospital visits, and debt collectors.Dominic could no longer return to construction. Watching him sit in th

Chapter 2

For the next few weeks, Dominic drove the motorcycle every day.The money was not much, but it helped. After paying for fuel, he could still bring home enough to buy groceries and medicine. For our family, even a small amount mattered.Unfortunately, Marcus and his three friends soon realized how vulnerable we were.They began calling Dominic often.Sometimes they asked him to take them from town to the village. Sometimes they made him wait for hours and then paid only half the fare. Sometimes they promised to pay later and never did.Dominic was too gentle to argue.I told him more than once, “Marcus isn’t a good person. You should avoid him.”Dominic sighed. “I know. But if they ride with me, that’s income. We need every dollar.”I understood, but my unease grew.Then Marcus started asking Dominic to carry packages.At first, they were ordinary things: tools, cigarettes, bottles of alcohol, spare parts.Later, the packages became sealed boxes.Marcus would tell Dominic to pick them u

Chapter 3

Marcus and his friends became bolder.They forced Dominic to drive them along dangerous mountain roads after drinking. They demanded night trips during heavy rain. They ordered him to carry sealed bags and warned him not to look inside.Each time Dominic refused, Marcus waved the debt note.“Don’t forget what you signed,” he would say. “If you stop listening, I’ll tell the whole village your family borrows money and refuses to pay it back.”In a small town, rumors could destroy a family.Our children still had to go to school. I could not bear the thought of them being mocked because of us.So Dominic kept driving.I kept quiet.But Marcus did not only target Dominic.He began cornering me when I worked in the fields.One afternoon, I was planting vegetables near the haystack when Marcus and his three friends came over, reeking of alcohol.I gripped my hoe tightly. “What do you want?”Marcus held up a copy of the debt note.“When are you paying us back?”“We’re paying slowly,” I said.

Chapter 4

Chapter 4The pressure changed Dominic.He grew quieter each day. He still took care of the children, still repaired the motorcycle, still woke before dawn to earn money, but something in his eyes had dimmed.Marcus and his friends continued to use him.They ordered rides and refused to pay full fares. They made him wait outside gambling dens and roadside bars. They used him as though he were their private driver.Once, Dominic came home with mud on his clothes and a bruise on his arm.I rushed to him. “What happened?”He said it was nothing.But I later learned from a neighbor that Marcus had shoved him because Dominic refused to drive too fast on a rainy road.I cried that night, quietly, so the children would not hear.Dominic heard anyway.He lay beside me in the dark and said, “I’m sorry.”I turned toward him. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”“I can’t protect you. I can’t protect the children. I can’t even protect myself.”“Don’t say that.”“I’m your husband, Lola. I should have be

Chapter 5

I did not remember how I reached the scene.The rain had stopped, but the mountain road was still wet. Villagers stood along the roadside, whispering. Police lights flashed against the trees.At the bottom of the cliff lay Dominic’s motorcycle, twisted beyond recognition.Dominic was gone.So were Marcus and his three friends.The police told me the initial conclusion was a traffic accident. The motorcycle had been overloaded. The road was slippery from rain. On a sharp curve, the vehicle lost control and plunged off the cliff.I heard every word, but none of it felt real.Dominic was careful.He feared that mountain road more than anyone.How could he overload the motorcycle in the rain?How could Marcus and his three friends all be on it at the same time?I fell to the ground beside Dominic and cried until my throat burned.He would never again come home covered in dust and tell me he had earned enough for dinner.He would never again pat the children’s heads and promise them better

Chapter 6

Chapter 6I burned the letter before dawn.The flames curled around Dominic’s handwriting until every word turned to ash.I understood why he had asked me to do it. He did not want me dragged into further trouble. He did not want the children to grow up under another shadow. He did not want the village to twist his final choice into another story for people to gossip about.After Marcus and his friends died, the village changed overnight.No one came to our house demanding money anymore.No one kicked over baskets in the yard.No one frightened my children.Those who had once laughed along with Marcus now lowered their heads when they saw me.But peace arrived too late.Dominic was already gone.The insurance payout eventually came.People congratulated me, saying at least Dominic had left something behind.I wanted to scream at them.That money was not luck.It was my husband’s life.I used part of it to repay what we owed. I saved the rest for the children’s schooling.For a long tim