PROLUGE

The room was crowded, packed with people standing shoulder to shoulder, yet it felt strangely empty around her. In the very center, a girl sat on the cold floor, knees pulled close, her head bowed as quiet sobs shook her body. No one moved to help. No one spoke.

The air was heavy and tense. Dark stains marked the floor and walls, evidence of chaos that had already passed. Guns lay scattered carelessly among torn papers, as if whatever struggle had happened ended suddenly and without order. The papers were smeared and crumpled, their purpose now meaningless.

She was trapped in the middle of it all..surrounded by people, yet completely alone. Fear pressed in from every side, and the room seemed to close around her, holding her in place. The silence between the people was louder than any sound, and her crying was the only sign that life still existed in the aftermath.

In front of them, a large LED screen flickered to life. The image was sharp and cruelly clear..a hospital room washed in cold white light. A man lay on the bed, his body still, machines surrounding him. His chest rose faintly, unevenly, as if each breath was a decision he wasn’t sure he could make. He was barely holding on.

The girl saw him and broke completely.

She crawled forward on the blood-stained floor, tears streaking down her face, her voice cracking as she begged them to stop. She pleaded for mercy, for time, for his life. “Please,” she cried, her hands shaking, “let him live. I’ll do anything.”

They only smiled.

It was a slow, devilish smile..cold, satisfied, untouched by her pain. One of them stepped forward and spoke calmly, as if discussing a business deal instead of a human life.

“Transfer all his assets to our names,” they said.And give him a divorce.”

The words hit her harder than any weapon. The room seemed to spin as she realized the trap she was in. powerless, surrounded, forced to choose between love and survival. The screen continued to glow behind them, the steady beeping of the hospital machines echoing in her mind, counting down the moments she was running out of.