All Chapters of Thirty Thousand Shortfall: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1

I stared at the middle-aged woman with tight curls who had just barged through my door, demanding I pay her $30,000 to make up the difference.All the excitement of finally buying a place vanished."Ma’am, volatility in housing prices is just how the market works," I said, keeping my voice as steady as I could. "The previous owner needed a quick sale, and I happened to catch it. That has nothing to do with you."She stepped closer, her voice turning sharp. "How does it have nothing to do with me? Same layout, same building, so why did you pay $30,000 less than I did?"Annoyance simmered under my skin. I remembered what the doctor told me when I was discharged—when conflict comes up, take a deep breath first, then reason it out.I took a slow breath."For you, the market was at its peak when you bought your unit. When I bought mine, prices had dropped. That’s not on me. If we follow your logic, then if prices go up another $50,000 next year, are you going to pay me the difference?

Chapter 2

"Sweetheart, just between us, if you can tolerate it, then tolerate it. Otherwise, leave as soon as you can."I took my things from her, holding back my irritation, and thanked her.Well, I wasn’t afraid. I had just spent my entire savings on that apartment.Leave?I let out a silent, cold laugh. It was the first time I’d ever heard of someone trying to force a psychiatric patient out of her own home.When I got back upstairs, I saw a plastic bag hanging from my doorknob.Inside was a dead rat. There was a note in the bag: "This is the first time. Next time, it’ll be alive."I scoffed, tied the bag shut, and tossed it right back at Linda’s door. I’d dealt with plenty of rats before.At eleven that night, I had just fallen asleep when the sound of a power drill jolted me awake. It was coming from across the hall: Unit 601.The drilling stopped, only to be replaced by the pounding of a hammer. Thud. Thud. Thud. The vibration made the glass of water on my nightstand tremble.

Chapter 3

Carl shot to his feet. "What the hell are you talking about? We weren’t renovating at all tonight! We went to bed early! You’re the one who came banging on our door and scared my wife into a heart attack. That’s why we turned the lights on!"Lying on the floor, Linda let out a perfectly timed groan. "Oh... my heart...""Officer, they’re setting me up," I argued, refusing to back down.Officer Keller looked at them, then at me. He stepped inside their unit to take a look. When he came back out, his expression was complicated."There’s no sign of renovation in there," he said. "Are you sure the drilling came from their place?""Yes," I said firmly."But there’s no drill in use," he replied. "All their tools are put away."My stomach sank.Then it hit me. In the twenty minutes before the police arrived, they’d had more than enough time to hide everything.Carl looked at me with a smug grin, like there was nothing I could do.Officer Keller let out a sigh. "Miss, I understand how

Chapter 4

Linda and Carl were standing on their balcony, looking straight at me.I saw Linda smile and wave. Beside her, Carl held a pair of pliers. They had flipped my breaker.The blood rushed to my head, my heartbeat accelerating.Again?I was really about to lose it.I hurried back inside, found my medication, and swallowed it. Then I lay down on the bed and closed my eyes.The medicine started to take effect. My heartbeat slowly steadied, my limbs growing heavy.In this world, reason doesn’t always matter. The doctor told me to avoid conflict. I had done everything I could tonight.Tomorrow?Tomorrow, it would be their turn to panic.Because I was out of medication.The next morning, I woke up to the sound of a drill. I reached for my phone—6:00 a.m.I lay there for three seconds. The drilling didn’t stop. It only got louder.I sat up, irritation rising uncontrollably. I went to the bathroom to wash my face. The person in the mirror looked terrible.My heart started racing aga

Chapter 5

From inside the apartment, Linda’s excited voice rang out. "Haha! She finally cracked!"She opened the door with a wide smile. "See? Should’ve known better from the start."When she saw the heavy wrench in my hand, her smile froze. "What are you doing?"I didn’t answer. I just stared at her.She took a step back, still trying to sound tough. "What? You think you can get violent? Go ahead and try it! Hit something! Let’s see if you actually have the guts. Still trying to act tough with me?"I raised the wrench.Bang!The impact slammed into the door, leaving a dent in the reinforced metal. The entire floor seemed to shake.Linda shrieked and instinctively jumped back. Then she pointed at me, her grin widening again."Go on! Keep smashing! That’s breaking and entering! I’m warning you, you’re going to jail for this!"I weighed the wrench in my hand and still didn’t say a word. Then I walked toward her.As she stepped backward, the smile on her face started to stiffen. "You… wh

Chapter 6

I stepped around Carl as he writhed on the floor and walked toward Linda, who backed away all the way to the wall, until there was nowhere left to go.Her legs gave out. She slid down along the wall and collapsed onto the floor. She looked up at me, her face streaked with tears, her voice shaking so badly it barely formed words."I’m sorry… Please, just let me go. I won’t do it again. I’m begging you…"I crouched down, the wrench swaying lightly in my hand."You won’t do it again?" I asked, almost curious.She nodded frantically, tears covering her face.I smiled. "When you scattered my mom’s ashes, did you think about mercy then?"Her face went deathly pale.When my dad died in a car accident, I was only six. We got the call in the middle of the night. Mom held me in the hospital hallway, sitting there with me until morning, her hand never leaving my head.After that, it was just her. She woke up at 5:00 a.m. every day to make me breakfast, took me to school, and then went to

Chapter 7

As I stood up and looked down at her, the wrench shifted lightly in my hand."Red," I said with a smile. "Wasn’t that what you wanted?"I brought the wrench down hard against her thigh, eliciting a piercing scream from her.I raised the wrench again. Linda shrank into the corner, arms over her head, screaming until her voice broke."Stop!"The police rushed in.Someone grabbed my wrist from behind. A powerful force yanked me back, and the wrench slipped from my hand, clattering to the floor.I staggered back two steps before being pinned against the wall."Don’t move! Police!"I turned my head and saw two officers in uniform.I didn’t resist.The ringing in my head slowly faded.Linda scrambled up from the corner and lunged toward the officers. "Officers! Thank God you’re here! She was trying to kill me! She was going to kill me!"She pointed at Carl lying on the ground. "Look at my husband! Look what she did to him!"Carl was still clutching his leg, groaning.Another o

Chapter 8

They asked me a lot of questions about my childhood, my mom, my episodes, and my medication.I answered each one.Finally, Dr. Ally Martin said, "We need to understand what you’re like during an episode. Can you try to recall how it felt?"I closed my eyes.The scene flashed through my mind: fragments, white powder, me kneeling on the floor, too afraid to touch it.My hands started trembling. As my heart sped up, my breathing grew uneven.I opened my eyes and looked at them."Like this. My heart races so fast it hurts. There’s this buzzing in my head, and then… I’m not really clear anymore. By the time I came back to myself, I was already in police custody."Dr. Martin made a few notes and exchanged a few quiet words with the male doctor, Dr. Ashton Byrne.Then she stood up and said to the officer beside her, "Preliminary assessment: her symptoms are consistent with intermittent explosive disorder. She was likely in an active episode at the time, with significantly reduced imp

Chapter 9

Linda slammed her hand against the table. "No? You injured my husband and me and smashed our door. What do you mean no?!"Mason chimed in, "Mom, don’t waste your breath. Just let the court decide—make her pay everything!"I said, "I admit I damaged your door. I also admit I injured him. But—"I looked at Karen. "They broke into my home first and destroyed my mother’s ashes. Legally, that’s unlawful entry and intentional property damage. If I pursue it, they won’t walk away clean either."Linda’s expression changed. "You… that’s bullshit! Who broke into your house? Who destroyed your ashes? Do you have any proof?""I do," I said. "There are footprints in my apartment. A man’s shoe, size 42. I took photos of your husband’s shoes."Carl’s face went pale.Karen glanced between us and sighed. "Alright. Why don’t both parties take some time to cool off? The hearing is tomorrow, and the judge will make a ruling."After I got home, I exported all the videos from my phone, then I edited

Chapter 10

That night, I got a text: "You little witch, don’t get cocky. I’ve lived this long and never taken a loss like this. Just wait—you’ll get yours."I didn’t think much of it as I didn’t expect Linda to move so fast.Ever since Mom’s ashes were destroyed, I had installed three hidden cameras in my apartment: one facing the door, one in the living room, and one in the kitchen. All were carefully concealed and connected to my phone for real-time monitoring.Around 2:00 p.m., while I was at work, my phone suddenly buzzed.The surveillance app sent an alert: motion detected in the living room.When I opened it, my heart dropped.On the screen, Carl was standing in my living room, moving furtively.How did he get in? I had locked the door.I zoomed in.He was holding a small bottle. He walked to the dining table, opened my water bottle, poured the liquid from the bottle inside, shook it lightly, then sealed it again.Then he left quickly. The whole thing took less than a minute.My

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