Chapter 7: The Price of Illusion

I closed the surveillance app, turning off the dashcam footage.

My phone screen went black, the silence in my little hideout deafening. I could only imagine… when those men realized there was no coin in the truck, what kind of chaos would erupt, how wild things would get.

Maybe they’d blame each other, maybe someone would try to take it all by force. How would they take out their anger on Jason?

The thought made my stomach turn. I wanted to scream, to smash something. All those nights splitting rent, all those cheap beers—gone. Just numbers on a screen now. I didn’t dare look. I didn’t want to.

Some doors, once opened, can’t be shut. In truth, this was a two-person magic trick.

Even the best magic tricks leave someone in the dark. And tonight, I wasn’t sure which side of the curtain I was on.