The Halloween Fee

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’ve already sent you the payment. Find someone and open the door right now!”

On the other end, her voice remained unhurried, as if the threat to Tommy’s life had nothing to do with her.

She slowly set her cup onto the table before speaking, as though she were granting me a favor.

“From the moment I told you the price, twenty minutes have gone by.

“You’ve wasted twenty minutes of my time for nothing. So now, four thousand five hundred dollars isn’t enough.”

“One hundred more for every minute — twenty minutes means two thousand dollars. Transfer it.”

She spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world, as though I were the debtor and she had come to collect.

I could no longer hold back my anger.

“How can you go back on your word like this?

“And don’t forget — the child trapped in there is your son!

“Where am I supposed to get another two thousand dollars?”

Holly exploded.

“You filthy bitch — watch your mouth! How dare you curse my son!

“And I told you already — Tommy is with his Papa. He’s not there.

“As for that dying brat, that’s just his bad luck. Who told him to come to a haunted house?”

Rage surged through me so fiercely that I wanted to storm out to grab her by the collar and slap her.

It didn’t matter whose child it was — this was a human life.

I clenched my fists, then charged at the door, slamming my shoulder against it again and again.

Once.

Twice…

By the time my shoulder had gone numb with pain, the door still hadn’t budged.

Holly’s mocking voice crackled mercilessly through the watch.

“Hahaha, if you can break that door open, I’ll eat my shoe!”

Exhausted, I leaned against the door, praying the police would arrive quickly.

Tommy’s face grew more purple by the minute as the students surrounded him.

Levi was so anxious that he was nearly in tears.

“Miss Cambria, please—come look!”

I hurried over.

Tommy’s breath was growing fainter and fainter.

At that moment, a piercing police siren split through the air.

I heard Holly jump to her feet in panic, muttering curses under her breath.

“Damn it—did they actually call the police?”

I lay Tommy flat on the ground and began CPR with trembling hands.

Through the watch connection, I could hear the police bursting into Holly’s office.

She tried to sound calm as she asked why they were there, but angry, frantic parents shouted in the background.

The moment Tommy stopped breathing, a sharp, cracking scream exploded from the watch.

“Honey? Why are you here?”