Eighty Three

The continuous ringing of her phone woke Amelia from her deep sleep. She had barely slept the previous night, as her husband had gone round after round. She tried standing up but felt sore. It was the sweet kind of sore, bringing back the memories of Mike deep inside her. She yawned, wishing it hadn’t ended.

When she finally opened her eyes, his side of the bed was empty – probably he had gone to work. Amelia smiled until her phone rang again, calling her attention to what had wakened her up in the first place.

It was a strange number. Because she was in a good mood, she picked up. A familiar deep voice sounded on the other side of the phone, “Hello, Amelia.” The voice sounded urgent, wiping every trace of sleep off her face.

That was her foster father’s voice. “Hello.”

He didn’t wait for her to continue, “Did you see the news, Amelia? I need your help. I need your husband’s help.”

Amelia frowned; what news? She hadn’t seen anything. “What are you talking about?”

“The company is about