He noticed the right side of the entrance hall illuminated by a series of luxurious rooms. He followed them. 

Soon he saw an old man laying on an inclined hospital bed in front of a fireplace. The opposite wall was bursting with books. 

“Matt, my boy! How good to see you!” groaned the old man. “Come closer! Let me see you. You’re all grown up, a proper man I’d say!”

“Mr. Dahlman, I suppose. Forgive me but your lawyer, Mr. Powers, didn’t really give me any details,” Matt said in one breath. 

“I will explain. You see, my boy, I’m your sole benefactor.” Mr. Powers paused. “I know you and your mother knew of me but I never thought it right to bother you.” His eyes darkened. 

“Bother me? Mr. Dahlman, I’m indebted to you! You changed my life.” Matt was now beaming. 

“But, why me?” he asked. “Did you happen to know my father?” 

Somehow this upset the old man. “I happened to play a part in your family’s misfortune,” he hesitantly answered. 

“What do you mean?”

“Matt, you should know I never meant to harm your father. It was a horrible accident. I woke up to learn I killed a man and left his wife a widow and his son an orphan.” 

Matt looked at him aghast. Time had stopped. 

“What?” whispered Matt in disbelief. He looked at his frail body.

“…And what do you want now? Forgiveness? To make you feel good? Are you out of your mind?” the young man yelled.

“No, no Matt. You need justice,” he replied. 

“There, I have a syringe that could kill me. Nothing is traced, Matt, and I made sure you won’t get into trouble. Go on,” he begged.

“To make me a killer? That’s your solution?” the young man cried in shock. 

“Nobody will know my boy. I’m an old man in poor health. They won’t notice. It’s there, on the nightstand.” 

Matt felt disgusted. He felt disgusted with himself because he had already grabbed the injection and found himself struggling in an internal battle. 

0 0 votes
Post Rating
3 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Fuji
Fuji(@fuji)
2 years ago

Wow. The image promised a good old-fashioned murder mystery, but this one was a real surprise! I also liked the title, which was a nice play on words. Very clever and well-written. An enjoyable read!

Lotchie Carmelo
Lotchie Carmelo(@lotchie-carmelo)
2 years ago

Wow 🙂 I was surprised by the ending. But I wish Matt didn’t do that, he is taking the justice into his own hands. Good story, Angie. You leave something on my mind that makes me wonder or try imagining the next scene.

Eric Radcliffe
Eric Radcliffe(@eric-radcliffe)
2 years ago

Hello Angie, I agree with Lotchie, it’s a surprising ending, and one that makes you think, what would you do, in the same situation?

Recent Comments

3
0
Selected Authors may submit comments (5 Credits)x
()
x
Scroll to Top

Sharing a Post

Why do my friends need to SignIn to read the post I shared?

Actually, this is a voting security feature. During public voting, only club members can read posts submitted for that contest. Since anyone reading the story is able to vote (click the Like button), we reserve these capabilities to members who SignIn. Before we implemented this security feature, people were voting multiple times and making the public voting process unfair and out of balance. To fix this, our staff finally decided to allow only members who SignIn to read the stories. Membership is free and easy, and ensures our club is safe, secure, and family-friendly!