* * *
“Oh, my God.” She looked up, unsure what to do. “Where? What account?”
She went where money inevitably went, knowing full well she had not provided any of her banking information while filling out that form. The ancient interface of her banking app took an eternity to load.
“Come on!” Of course, this was the day they would force her to update her password, answer security questions, and wait.
The spinning wheel processed for an eternity.
Then the screen changed, and her racing heart stopped.
Pending Balance: £1,016.42
She stared in absolute shocked silence. A thousand pounds more than she had that morning.
Her vision blurred until the digits stopped making sense. But it was there. Right in front of her eyes. So she screamed.
Three heavy thumps pounded on the floorboards. “Will you shut the hell up! I got kids trying to sleep!”
Daisy covered her mouth and laughed. “Sorry,” she whispered, hugging her phone as she fell back on the bed.
“One thousand pounds!” she squeaked. It was the most money her account had ever seen. And it was all hers!
She shoved her face into the pillow and screamed again. If this was a dream, she never wanted to wake up.
Chapter Five
Vast Blue Nothingness
Three hundred sixty-eight pounds.
That was what remained of the thousand after Daisy cashed her paycheck, paid her rent, luxuriated in a proper coffee from the café on the corner, bought functional shoes that didn’t leak when it rained, and finally saw to the tooth that had been screaming at her for weeks.
The dental work alone cost over four hundred pounds. X-rays, extraction of what couldn’t be saved, and a filling. When she cried, the hygienist assumed it was pain. It wasn’t. It was relief. The overwhelming sensation of having the means for self-care tasted like theft, like borrowing someone else’s life. But she hadn’t stolen anything. This was, at the moment, her surreal life.
Maryanne noticed a change in her right away.
“You’re glowing, mija.” She’d cornered Daisy by the industrial pressers, dark eyes narrowed with suspicious delight. “You met a man, didn’t you?”
“No man.” Daisy laughed, the sound rare and unforced.
“What then? There’s something giving you that glow.”
The NDA worked like a gag, silencing every urge to share what had happened. Her lips sealed around a smile as she shrugged, wishing she could share her news with her friend. “I started taking a multi vitamin.” It wasn’t entirely a lie.
Every morning, Daisy willingly swallowed down that little promise of vitality with a sense of hope that hadn’t existed a week ago. For the first time in as long as she could remember, she felt almost human.
She couldn’t mess this up. If her life noticeably improved from one thousand pounds, she couldn’t imagine what it would look like after a million. Her mind was fully made up and mentally committed to The Feast. Her plan was simple—run, hide, evade, get paid.
When the second envelope arrived the same way as the first, a flash of emerald among the grey detritus of the mailbox alcove, her heart stuttered. Fingers trembling, she tore through the seal right there in the stairwell.
Your presence is confirmed.
A car will collect you on Friday at noon.
Be ready.
You may bring one small bag of personal belongings.
