Chapter 2 - The Race Against Time
Panic washed over me as I stared at Chris's text message.
Wednesday was only five days away.
That meant my family would arrive two days before the cash buyer was supposed to take possession.
"They are coming early," I told Michael, my voice shaking.
Michael took my phone and read the message himself.
"We just have to pack faster," he said calmly.
We spent the entire weekend throwing our lives into cardboard boxes.
We hired a storage unit across town and worked under the cover of darkness.
I didn't reply to any of the messages buzzing in the family group chat.
My mother texted me a grocery list of specific organic snacks she wanted me to buy.
Ashley sent me a link to an expensive shampoo and asked me to stock it in the guest bathroom.
I took screenshots of everything, fueled by a cold, burning anger.
By Monday morning, the house was completely empty except for a few suitcases.
Dave the realtor walked through the bare rooms with the cash buyer.
The buyer was a tall, intimidating man named Mr. Vance who barely spoke.
He inspected the kitchen appliances and nodded his head once.
"The money will be wired by Tuesday afternoon," Mr. Vance said in a deep voice.
"I want the locks changed by Wednesday morning."
I felt a rush of relief because Wednesday morning was exactly when Chris planned to arrive.
Michael and I signed the preliminary paperwork right there on the kitchen island.
We booked a cozy, secluded cabin in the snowy mountains for the rest of December.
It was finally happening.
I was finally free from the heavy chains of their holiday expectations.
On Tuesday evening, we packed our final bags into the trunk of our car.
I stood on the porch and took one last look at the empty house.
It felt like shedding a heavy skin I had worn for too long.
My phone chimed with a notification from the family chat.
It was a picture from Ashley, showing her kids sitting in a packed minivan.
"On the road! See you in five hours, Emily!" the caption read.
My blood ran completely cold.
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They weren't arriving on Wednesday morning.
They were driving through the night, and they would be here by midnight.
