Wed or Dead

I

Eliana Snow - that was her name.

She was 20 years old. She worked at a coffee shop and she hated her life.

For some reason, her parents decided that she will not be ready to inherit their multimillion-dollar fortune at age 18 that's why she had to wait until she turns 21. But can she survive the constant harassment of my family members until I turn 21? Or will they murder me, eventually? This question remains open.

Right now my parents' company, bank accounts, and estates are managed by the court-appointed trustee - Harvey Snow. Her uncle who sincerely hated her. 

And the feeling is mutual.

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"Broken cheekbone, mild concussion, bruising on the upper arm "

The doctor listed her injuries in a monotonous voice. Eliana felt sick.

"When can I get out of here?" Eliana asked referring to the depressing hospital room.

"I think I'd like to keep you here until Monday"

No, no, no.

"I'd like to discharge myself at my own request, if possible," Okay, that was a bit rude of her, but she really needed to get out of here. What was making her really sick was the thought of hospital bills.

"Is there anyone to look after you at home?"

"Sure," Eliana muttered. It wasn't entirely true, but Casey was in the house. Sometimes.

"Alright. I still strongly advise against this, but I can't stop you from leaving," the doctor said.

***

When Eliana was alone again, she went to the bathroom to see what her reflection looks like. If it is very bad, it may not be possible for her to go back to work right away. 

And it was bad. 

Her face looked terribly bruised. The bruises were shimmering purple, green, and yellow, creating a mosaic of colours.

Somehow Eliana's charm faded. Her eyes were quite large and her irises had an intense emerald colour which she have always liked but now her eyes were dull and looked as if they belonged to a lifeless doll. Her light brown hair was not as shiny as they use to be when she was having a normal life with mild instead of acute stress levels to manage. She has lost weight because of recent events and it started showing on her cheeks. It didn't look pretty either.

In other words, she looked horrible.

And it is all thanks to Ethan (her uncle's son). He really lost his mind lately. He almost killed her.

And for what reason? What a trivial motive. Money.

###

After she was discharged from the hospital, Eliana ended up in an empty apartment. It was quite late, and in a perfect world, her 16-year-old sister would be home right now, but it wasn't a perfect world. It was her little private hell.

Eliana looked around the room to determine the condition of the apartment. It was not good. It was filthy and ugly. On that note, she needed to take a shower after her hospital visit.

When Eliana was trying to decide on what to do first, someone knocked on the door.

When she opened it, a tall man in a blue uniform showed up.

"Good morning, officer Aron White" the policeman showed his identification card  "Is Ms Eliana Snow home right now?"

"That's me"

"Ms Snow I'd like to collect your testimony about the incident from last Friday"

"Of course. Please, come in. Would you like tea? Coffee? Water?"

"Water, if it's not a problem.

Eliana invited him to sit on the sofa.

"So let's start from the beginning," he said taking out his notepad "what exactly happened that night?"

"My cousin attacked me,"

"At this happened here at your house, yes?"

"Yes"

"What was his motive?"

"I don't want to give up my inheritance rights

He looked up surprised. "Can you elaborate for me, ma'am?" Officer Aaron asked.

I took a deep breath.

"I am the only person who has the right to inherit my parent's fortune. My uncle, Harvey Snow, and his son Ethan Snow are not included in their last will. However, my uncle is the court-appointed trustee who manages their assets as the closest adult relative.  He did so for several years now. The closer to the final court hearing the more Harvey harasses me. He's getting desperate. So far he wasn't successful in his attempts to scare me but the latest incident... latest incident was too much. I'm really afraid they will hurt me or kill me. Just so they can get the money"

Eliana currently had no money. She barely graduated from high school. She had no way to defend herself against Harvey or Ethan. She had good reason to be scared.

"Well, that sounds like the classic case of blackmail, ma'am," said the policeman.

"Yes, I think so too," she replied, a spark of annoyance appeared in her chest. 

"Do you have any proof? Are there any witnesses who can confirm that he's threatening you?"

"Not many people know about this. My adoptive parents were witnesses of Harvey's open threats but they died in a car accident two years ago. Their daughter, Casey, is staying with me. She can confirm my story but she's a minor"

"Well, it complicates the situation," the policeman admitted.

"Is there any chance that Ethan will get prosecuted for this?"

"Naturally ma'am. He's facing a penalty of up to three or even five years in jail, but if this was his first offence there's a big chance he will end up on probation, maybe get a fine, or house arrest"

"That's it? l told you that he wants to kill me "

"I understand but we need something to prove it"

"That's going to be difficult"

Harvey is smart. He's subtle. He won't just send me a message or a letter describing his intention. What was she supposed to do?

"Ethan... he threatened me in front of Casey I know it doesn't connect Harvey directly but it does help my case, right?"

"People say a lot of things when they're angry. He's defendant will surely say he was under the influence of strong emotions"

"But he really meant it"

"Then I would advise you to apply for the restraining order"

"The piece of paper definitely won't stop him. He needs to be in jail, his father too"

"I'm sorry that I can't guarantee this happening ma'am. Start collecting evidence it's the only way you can prove your case"

"I see. Thank you for your help officer"

And what are you thanking him for, you idiot?"

Fortunately, officer Aaron White left her house right after they finished this uneventful conversation.

The police were useless. She needed to figure out how to protect herself.

Hi guys,
This is the first story that I wrote in polish (my first) language and now I'm translating it to English and this is the first story of mine that is fully completed. Now, I want to focus on translating it. I wrote it like that because I wanted to add more detailed descriptions and just let my thought process be unrestrained by my second-language skills. I hope my translation is good enough and you will enjoy reading this.

Please let me know what you think about the first chapter. ♥️♥️♥️