Part 1My Ex Came Back for Revenge, Only to Find Me Dead

The day my ex-wife, Chloe, rolled back into our dusty little hometown like conquering royalty, she had five years clean on her face and a five-year-old boy clutching her hand. Behind her, not one, but three armored trucks, supposedly stuffed with cash, idled on the main drag.

Practically the whole town turned out, gawking. Everyone except anyone from my folks' place. Which, these days, was nobody.

Chloe waved a dismissive hand, all designer sunglasses and sharp angles. Her assistant, some slick city type, started barking orders to guards who began handing out thick envelopes. "Listen up!" Chloe announced, her voice carrying over the murmur, loud enough for even the ghosts to hear. "Ten thousand dollars for every family! Except the Millers, of course."

The assistant smirked, leaning in conspiratorially loud. "Bet somebody's kicking themselves right now, huh, Ms. Davis? Five years ago, you suddenly went blind, complications with the birth… and that animal took the money meant for your treatment and ran back here to marry someone else!" He gestured at the boy. "Now look. Little Liam's healthy as can be, and you inherited a fortune! What right does he even have to breathe the same air?"

Yeah, that's the story they all knew. That I, Jake Miller, ditched Chloe when she needed me most, cleaned out our savings, and came home to shack up with someone new. Now she was back, loaded and powerful, ready to rub my nose in it.

Chloe scoffed, a cold, ugly sound. "That money-grubbing trash? If he crawls back here on his hands and knees, maybe I'll toss him a scrap."

Folks shuffled their feet, looking anywhere but at her. Finally, old Mrs. Henderson mumbled, "But, Chloe dear… Jake's gone. He died years ago. Coyotes got the… well, what was left."

* * *

Chloe’s head snapped towards the voice. Her eyes, the ones I… the ones she could see with now, narrowed behind the expensive shades. A harsh laugh escaped her lips. "Dead? He picked a convenient time, didn't he?" She scanned the crowd. "What, afraid I'd skin him alive? So you cook up this pathetic lie?" She flashed the massive diamond on her ring finger, twisting it. "My husband would be disgusted if he knew I was even talking about such lowlifes!"

Watching her, that ten-ton weight I'd carried in my chest for five years finally started to crumble.

The little boy, Liam, tugged at her sleeve, his face scrunched up. "Mommy, I don't like hearing that bad man's name."

"Shh, baby, it's okay." Chloe's voice instantly softened for him, stroking his hair. But when she looked back at the crowd, her eyes were ice. "Dig him up! Find that worthless piece of trash! I want to see this 'dead' act for myself! Anyone tries to cover for him, they lose their payout!"

Alex Turner, who grew up down the road from me, stepped forward, looking uneasy. "Chloe, it's true. If you don't believe us… just watch." He held out his phone, then looked away himself, like he couldn't bear to see it again. "I thought he was just… I don’t know, trying to piss you off back then. I never thought…"

The video flickered to life, grainy and dark. It was five years ago, in the humid stink of some underground fight club. That was me on the makeshift canvas, curled up, taking a beating. My face was hamburger meat. The guys ringside had bet big on the other fighter. My job wasn't to win; it was just to not die too quickly while making it look good. So I protected my head and gut and just absorbed it. Felt like an hour, maybe more.

Finally, the other guy won. His handlers swarmed him, cheering. They left me there like a sack of garbage, gasping for air. Everything hurt. Ribs cracked, probably bleeding inside. But a weak grin spread across my bloody lips. Pain meant I was still breathing. That was something.

That's when Alex, the past Alex, swaggered onto the platform. Pure malice on his face. He planted a boot on my chest, grinding down. "Well, well, lookie here. If it ain't our town's famous deadbeat dad. Slumming it, Miller?" He sneered. "Trying to earn some scratch for the new wifey? Ten grand don't buy much these days, especially not someone as good and pretty as Chloe was."

Pain kept me silent, just groans under his boot.

He grabbed my shirtfront, spat near my face. "Never met scum like you, Miller! Chloe must've been blind long before she went blind to fall for a piece of crap like you!" He shoved me. "Remember digging through dumpsters? She didn't care! But when she's pregnant, scared, blind, you steal the goddamn money and run?" His voice rose. "You worthless bastard! You deserve worse than this! I oughta finish you right here for her!" He stomped on my hand, a sickening crunch echoed. Bone grating.

Still couldn't speak. Just took it.

The promoter, some greasy guy chewing a cigar, wandered over. He didn't look surprised, just amused. "Hey, payout time." He eyed my battered form. "The bosses weren't impressed. Said you looked like you were faking half of it. Gonna have to dock your pay. Half."

"No! We agreed..." I tried to push myself up, desperate. He kicked me back down, hard.

"Don't think I dunno your situation, pal," he growled. "Wife, kid, ICU, bills piling up. You ain't nobody. You're a punching bag. Be grateful I'm paying you at all. Open your mouth again, and maybe I make a call, make sure nobody in your family gets decent care. Savvy?"

He threw a thin wad of bills onto my bloody face and strutted off. Just like that, half the money – the money Chloe and the baby needed – gone.

What could I do? How could I save them now?

Tears, hot and stinging, finally broke free. I hadn't cried through the beating, but this… this broke me. As I crawled, trying to gather the scattered, blood-stained dollars, Alex grabbed my hair and slammed my head against a metal support post. "Thieving scumbag! Taking her lifeline! Chloe shoulda cut your balls off and fed 'em to the dogs!"

My vision swam. Just before I blacked out, a faint ringing. My phone. Shoving Alex off with the last of my strength, I fumbled in my beat-up gym bag nearby and pulled out a cheap burner phone. The screen glowed: County General Hospital.