The Manor, The Dog, The Debt

My legs buckled, and I sank to the floor. Pride and dignity were luxuries I could no longer afford. I knelt before Hobs, begging.

"Hobs, I'm begging you, please let Cody go!"

"This is between us, don't drag him into it! You cried when he almost died from parvo as a puppy. You loved him once! How can you be so cruel?"

"Give him back to me! He won't survive this, don't you see? Please!"

Hobs didn’t answer, just stared at his phone. A moment later, my own phone buzzed with videos of Cody whining in terror from inside the shelter cage.

"Three hours."

"One hour."

"Thirty minutes, Blair. The shelter vet is getting ready…"

In the latest video, a figure in a white coat was walking toward Cody’s cage.

In that moment, the depth of his cruelty became terrifyingly clear.

I collapsed completely, a howl of pure despair tearing from my throat.

"I'll sign!"

My hand trembled as I scrawled my name on the deed.

Hobs finally smiled, satisfied, and passed the document to Becca.

She waved it in my face with a triumphant smirk.

"Thanks so much, Blair."

"I’m going to bring my mom to live with me in the manor, openly. She’s going to be so happy!"

I was too choked with rage to speak. I just turned to Hobs.

"You'll bring Cody back now, right?"

He nodded, signaling his assistant to retrieve the dog, then bent down as if to help me up.

Just as the car returned, Becca suddenly screamed.

"Ah! Look out!"

"My wheelchair is out of control!"

As she yelled, her electric wheelchair swerved, and the leash seemed to slip from her grasp.

In that instant, Cody, finally free, bolted toward me—directly into the path of a reversing truck.

A sickening thud.

Becca let out a theatrical scream and tumbled from her wheelchair.

But Cody lay completely still. The massive truck wheel had rolled over him. He let out a single, piercing cry, and then there was nothing.

Hobs didn’t even spare Cody a glance, striding right past his lifeless body.

He scooped a pale-faced Becca into his arms, murmuring gently, "It's okay, I'm here. Let's get you inside and checked out."

Then, he hurried away, leaving me behind.

I scrambled toward Cody, my hands scraping the pavement, and saw blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

I grabbed the arm of the veterinarian who had just arrived. "Save him!" I shrieked.

"He's not breathing! You're a doctor, do something!"

The vet knelt, felt for a pulse, and then shook his head.

"Miss Sinclair, I'm so sorry. He's gone."

A roaring filled my ears.

That afternoon passed in a haze. I was a ghost, barely registering how I managed to get Cody's body to the crematorium.

I had no one left.

My mother was gone. My father, a traitor.

The only two beings who had ever truly loved me were my fiancé and my dog.

Now, Hobs had betrayed me, and Cody was dead.

Standing before the roaring furnace, a chill settled deep in my bones.