NOT HIS SUBSTITUTE

KNOCK KNOCK'

The door knocks,

"Lexi, go and check out who is it," says Mom.

“Yeah, okay!” I respond and head out to check. To my surprise, it’s my brother-in-law.

“Hey, partner! Are you here alone?! Where’s sister?!” I ask eagerly.

“That’s what I’m here to find out. Where is she?” His words catch me off guard. Is he angry? His expression, one I’ve never seen before, sends a shiver down my spine. I step aside as he pushes past me and enters the house, followed by another man in a black suit carrying a file.

I close the door behind me and follow them into the living room. My brother-in-law sits down on a daybed, while the man stands beside him.

“Call your parents,” he commands, a frown creasing his handsome forehead.

“Oh, okay,” I respond uncertainly, then hurry off to call my parents as instructed.

Mom and Dad enter the living room, with me trailing behind them, feeling apprehensive.

“Where is Vanaya?” my brother-in-law asks, surprising my parents.

“What do you mean? We don’t know. How would we know? She lives with you. We haven’t talked to her in days. You tell us, where is our daughter?” Mom’s voice carries a mix of worry and anger. Dad gently presses her shoulder in an attempt to calm her.

“Son, what’s going on?” Dad asks politely, his expression reflecting concern.

“So you don’t know where she is,” he remarks, turning his attention towards me. “Your sister shares everything with you. Right? So do you know?”

“No,” I respond immediately, shaking my head. “I... don’t know.”

Silence hangs heavy in the room for a moment.

“Can you please be more specific about what’s going on?” I ask, my voice rising as frustration begins to boil within me. “You’re worrying us,” I add, feeling the tension in the air.

“Vanaya, your sweet daughter, cheated on me with her ex,” he declares, anger evident in his eyes.

“Impossible! It must be some kind of misunderstanding,” Mom exclaims. The revelation leaves us all in shock. They’ve always seemed like such a loving couple; this couldn’t be true. There must be some mistake.

“How did you come to this conclusion? Do you have any proof...?” I interject, trying to make sense of the situation. His gaze sharpens as he looks at me, as though he could pierce through me with his eyes. But I stand my ground, refusing to be intimidated.

He extends his hand towards the man in the black suit beside him, who opens a file and hands over a piece of paper. It appears to be a local page torn from some register, with writing that looks familiar. It’s my sister’s handwriting.

"This is what she left behind before she disappeared," he continues, "It says everything it's a confession letter, in which she tells me about her cheating on me with her ex, and her taking money from me, that you're going to repay."

“What?!” I snatch the letter out of his hand, my emotions boiling over. How could she do this? She’s not like that... or is she? Doubt gnaws at me. Did I really know her? Did any of us?

My sister has always been reserved and quiet, strong but not very talkative. She never opened up much about herself. Was she still in love with her ex? I thought she had moved on. But why would she need such a huge amount of money?

Mom’s hand on my shoulder snaps me out of my thoughts. She takes the letter from my hand and begins to read it. With each word, her expression darkens.

“How much money do we need to repay?” Dad asks, his face reflecting helplessness.

“50 million dollars, sir,” the lawyer beside Maverick responds.

50 million dollars?!

“We’ve never even dreamed of 50k, how are we supposed to repay him this much money?” Dad’s concern is palpable. But the most pressing question remains: why does she need such a huge sum?

“You know, son, we can’t repay you this much money. Is there any other way out of this?” Dad asks, his worry evident.

“Yes,” he responds coldly. “You can go to jail instead.”

“What does that even mean...?” Mom’s voice trembles as she struggles to comprehend.

“Are you out of your mind?” I snap, my patience wearing thin. “You can’t be serious. Partner, you can’t let Dad... go to jail. Please, be more reasonable,” I plead, trying to maintain composure in the face of this dire situation.

“Hmph!” he scoffs, punching the table with his fist before standing up and locking eyes with me. “You think I should be reasonable... what a funny thing to say, Lexi,” he sneers, his tone dripping with disdain. “And you think this letter your sister left behind is reasonable?”

"No, It's not that." His fiercest eyes scare me. This is my first time seeing him like this I hesitate for a bit to say further,

“I don’t know why she did that, but there must be another way to repay you,” I assert, hoping for a resolution that doesn’t involve Dad going to jail.

“Alright,” he responds, a mysterious smile playing on his lips. He signals to his lawyer, who produces another document from his file. This time, it’s a neatly printed sheet—court papers, perhaps?

“You don’t want your father in jail, do you? Then there is a way,” he says, his tone oddly playful.

“What... What is it?” Mom asks, her voice trembling with uncertainty.

“Sign this contract, and your father will be okay. You won’t have to pay me either,” he explains.

“What does this contract say? Let me sign it,” I interject impatiently, eager to resolve the situation as quickly as possible.

He laughs, a sound that rings with amusement and a hint of cruelty, completely at odds with the partner I thought I knew. The person who met my sister was different—kind and gentle. It’s as if she has changed him completely.

“It’s nothing much,” he chuckles, relishing our expressions of helplessness. “It just says that you, Miss Bobstan, will be your sister’s substitute for me.”