Chapter 1 During a team meeting, my mom FaceTime’d me out of nowhere. She said she missed me. She just wanted to see my face. Mr. Stirling, my boss, snapped at me. "Cut the noise. We’re in the middle of a briefing." I had to decline the call. I texted Mom, In a meeting. Call you after work. But she wouldn't listen. The phone buzzed again and again. She kept sending video requests, typing that she missed me so much, begging for just one look. I was reaching to silence it when Stirling lost it. He snatched my phone, hurled it onto the concrete floor, and screamed, " I said cut the noise!" The screen shattered. The phone went black. I didn't dare make a sound. When the meeting ended, Stirling tossed a couple of hundred-dollar bills on the ground. He looked at me with cold, dead eyes. "Fix it. If it buzzes in my meeting again, you’re fired." I picked up the phone. It was cracked, but it wasn't dead. It had just rebooted. As soon as it turned on—twenty missed calls. I opened my messages. Mom had sent a string of voice notes. "Caleb, baby, Mama misses you. Are they treating you okay out there?" "Eat right, okay? Mama feels... heavy. Like I can't catch my breath." "Baby, don't cry. Mama loves you so much. If I don't make it... I’ll watch over you from Heaven." My mind went blank. The world stopped spinning. Then, a text from Pops popped up: Get the first bus home. Your mother’s gone. I stared at the cracked screen, my hands shaking so hard I nearly dropped it again. I tried to call Pops. When he answered, my throat felt like it was stuffed with broken glass. It hurt to speak. Pops was broken, but he tried to calm me down. "Don't panic, son. Just... breathe." But I couldn't breathe. I couldn't form sentences. I just stuttered, choking on tears, "What do I do? Pops, I don't have a Mama anymore." I collapsed on the office floor, sobbing uncontrollably. Stirling stormed back into the conference room. "What is wrong with you? Crying like a baby in the middle of the day? I have clients in my office!" "My mom..." I choked out. "My mom is gone." Stirling paused for a second, then sneered. "Your mom died, not mine. I'm closing a deal. You want to cry? Take it outside." He muttered something about "bad luck" and slammed the door. I wiped my face, adrenaline mixing with grief. I chased him out and grabbed his arm. "I need bereavement leave. I'm going home. Now." Stirling looked at me like I was a cockroach. "You're taking leave during our busiest season? Fine. Bring me a death certificate first." "She just passed," I said, my voice trembling. "There is no certificate yet. I need to go." "Then have your family send a picture of the body." I froze. I thought I misheard him. "Excuse me?" "Video call," he said, checking his watch. "Put a mirror under her nose. No fog after two minutes? She's dead. I'm busy. Don't waste my time." He waved me off and turned to walk away. I grabbed his suit jacket and yanked him back. Hard. The office went silent. Everyone stared. I clenched my fist, every muscle in my body screaming to smash his face in. Stirling pointed a finger in my face. "Let go. Policy is policy." I swallowed the rage. I had to. If I hit him now, the cops would come. If I got locked up, I’d miss the funeral. I wouldn't see Mama one last time. I let go. Stirling smirked, thinking I was weak. "Coward. All bark, no bite. This is a business, not a daycare." I gritted my teeth. "I'm not asking for leave. I quit." I shoved past him, wiping my eyes, and headed for the door. But this time, Stirling grabbed my arm. "Quitting? Fine. Pay the damages first." Chapter 2 I stopped. "What damages?" "Company policy," he sneered. "You've been here less than a year. Breach of contract. Training fees, equipment fees... comes out to three grand. Pay up, then you can go." I was confused. "Training? I started working the minute I walked in the door." "Working here is the training," he said smoothly. "You're learning skills. That costs money." I looked at him, disbelief washing over me. "My mother just passed away, and you're trying to shake me down?" He shrugged. "Rules are rules. You either pay, or you get on your knees and apologize for the disruption. Once your family proves she's a corpse, I'll give you one day off." I couldn't believe a human being could be this vile. Stirling leaned in close, his voice a venomous whisper. "In my house, you don't disrespect me. If I don't break you today, how do I manage the rest of these sheep? Everyone has problems. Your mom croaking isn't an excuse to inconvenience me." He glared at me, then walked into his office, telling the security guard to lock the main doors. "He doesn't leave until he pays." The guard, a big guy who followed orders blindly, moved to block the exit. I walked toward the glass doors. The guard stepped up. I didn't slow down. I kicked the fire safety box on the wall. Crash. I grabbed the red emergency axe. My chest was heaving. I tried to calm down. I thought of Mama. She hated violence. She hated when I fought. The guard was trembling now. I remembered how Mama used to visit the houses of the kids I fought, begging their parents not to call the cops, paying for their medical bills with money she didn't have. She was gone now. I had to see her. I couldn't go to jail. I ignored the guard and swung the axe. SMASH. The tempered glass of the main door shattered into a million diamonds. I dropped the axe and walked out. Behind me, Stirling was screaming. He chased me to the sidewalk, face red with fury. "You son of a b*tch! You walk away, and you're done!" I turned around. My eyes were cold. "If I didn't have to see my mother, you'd be ending today." He scoffed. "Tough guy. You think I'm scared?" I didn't answer. I got in a cab. On the way to the bus station, a coworker called. "Caleb, you're screwed. Stirling is furious. He says you owe for the door and the fees. He's going to sue." "Let him," I said. "His contract is illegal. No judge will enforce it." "It's not about the law," the coworker whispered. "Stirling targets guys like us—from the sticks, no college, desperate. It's his business model. You made him look weak. If he doesn't crush you, the scam falls apart." "He's calling in favors," the coworker added. "He pulled your address from HR files. He's bringing guys to your place. He wants to make an example out of you." "Okay," I said. I hung up. I opened Mama's chat. I played her last voice note again. "If I don't make it... I’ll watch over you." I listened to her voice, sitting in the back of a Greyhound bus, crying like a lost child. Mid-sob, a text came in from Stirling. Wait there, trash. I'm going to send you to meet your mother. Chapter 3 I made it back to the Hollow. The old folks were sitting on their porches. When they saw me, the chatter stopped. They went inside. As I walked down the dirt road, blinds were drawn. Doors were locked. They hated me here. My hands had too much red on them from the old days. I was one of the "left-behind" kids. My folks went to the city to work off debts, leaving me with my grandparents in this forgotten corner of the state. Kids without parents get bullied. That's the law of the playground. But I was born mean. I never backed down. Every kid who tried me ended up in the clinic. The neighbors called me a menace. They stormed my grandparents' house, demanding justice. Mama had to come back. She spent every dime she saved bailing me out, paying for stitches and broken teeth. She hugged me while I was still covered in dirt. She cried. "Are you crying because we're broke?" I had asked her, acting tough. "I'm crying because my baby is hurting," she wailed. That was the day I changed. I swallowed my temper. I went to the city. I wanted to make money so she could rest. But she didn't get to rest. I wiped my eyes. I ignored the dirty looks from the neighbors. I rounded the corner to my dad’s trailer. I stopped. A black SUV was parked in the yard. Stirling was there. And he wasn't alone. He had five guys with him—bikers, roughnecks. My dad was bowing to them, apologizing. Stirling poked my dad in the chest. "Who do you think you are? Your son caused the damage. Your son pays." I didn't expect him to beat me here. But I took the bus. He drove a luxury car on the highway. "Sir," my dad pleaded. "My boy has a temper. I'm sorry. But my wife... she's laying inside. Please, out of respect for the dead, can we talk after the funeral?" "Your wife kicked the bucket, not mine!" Stirling shouted. "Good riddance, I say. Raising a piece of trash like your son? She checked out early to avoid the shame!" I walked toward them. "There he is!" Stirling pointed. The thugs circled me. "My mother is inside," I said, my voice low. "I don't want trouble right now." The leader of the thugs, a guy with a neck tattoo and a shaved head, stepped forward. He blew cigarette smoke in my face. "What if I want trouble?" Chapter 4 Stirling puffed up his chest. He had his army now. He tapped my sternum hard. "You were real loud in the office, Caleb. Said you were gonna end me?" I looked at the thugs. Then at Stirling. "Let me light a candle for my mom. That's all I ask." "I don't have time for your voodoo," Stirling spat. He pulled out his phone and started recording. "Here's the deal. You disrespected me. You're gonna kneel down, right here, and beg for forgiveness. You're gonna admit you owe me the money." My dad stepped in. "Sir, please! His mother just passed! Asking him to kneel... it ain't right!" "Right?" Stirling laughed. He gestured to his hired muscle. "I paid these gentlemen good money to come out to this dump. Do you think I care about what's right? I'm bullying you. Because I can." My dad looked at me, eyes pleading. "See?" Stirling grinned. "Even your old man is a coward." "I'm begging him not to hurt you," Dad said honestly. "Please, just go. If you push him, you're gonna get hurt." Stirling fake-shivered. "Ooh, I'm shaking. Your boy gonna beat me up?" "He's the only one his Mama could control," Dad whispered. The bald thug flicked his cigarette butt at me. It hit my cheek, sparks stinging my skin. He grabbed a handful of my hair. "Your daddy talks big. Come on then. Hurt me." I took a deep breath. "Pops, is the hearse coming?" "Yeah," Dad whispered. "Soon." I nodded. I shoved the thug backward and walked into the trailer. "Hey!" Stirling screamed. "I'm talking to you, dirtbag!" I ignored him. My heart was breaking. I walked into the bedroom. There she was. She looked peaceful. Just sleeping. Her hands were cold. I knelt beside her. "I just wanted you to have a good life, Mama. Why did I take that job? Why wasn't I here?" Dad came in. "She wanted to talk to you. Your phone was off. I recorded it." He held up his phone. On the screen, Mama looked frail. Every breath was a struggle. "Caleb... eat well. Dress warm. I tried to save for your wedding... but I'm useless. I only saved five grand." She wiped her eyes on the screen. "It's in the coffee tin... under the sink. Buy a car. Find a nice girl. Mama loves you..." Suddenly, Stirling burst into the room. He pointed at the cupboard under the sink. "Five grand! You heard it! That's my compensation!" I turned, eyes burning. "I am listening to my mother's last words! Shut up!"
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