The Unknown Message

I gripped the cold steel railing, watching the numbers on the monitor flatline for a third brutal time. The nurse kept saying his name, ‘Mr. Thompson, can you hear us?’ but his eyes stayed shut, vacant, the room smelling intensely of antiseptic and stale coffee. My sister, Sarah, stood rigidly by the window, her back to me, perfectly still, a silent, unsettling sentinel in the sterile chaos.

Dr. Ramirez pulled me aside, his voice a low, heavy rumble that vibrated through my bones. “We’ve done everything we can, Miss Thompson. He’s not waking up.” My legs felt like jelly, a cold dread seeping into every pore, chilling me. Despite the shock, I forced myself to walk over to Sarah. I had to know if she was okay, if she understood.

I reached out, touching her arm lightly, and she flinched violently, turning slowly, her face shockingly pale in the harsh, almost blinding fluorescent light. Her eyes, usually so guarded, were wide with something I couldn’t place – not grief, not shock, not even fear. It was something far deeper, truly terrible, lurking behind them.

Then she whispered, her voice barely audible over the monotonous hum of the life support machines, “I know why he’s really here, why this happened.” Before I could process her words, to ask what she meant, a sudden, insistent buzz echoed from his bedside table – his phone, vibrating angrily on the polished wood surface.

On the screen, a message from an unknown number read: ‘Job’s done. Confirm payment.’

👇 Full story continued in the comments…The world tilted. My stomach lurched, a cold wave of understanding crashing over me. “What… what are you saying, Sarah?” I stammered, my voice cracking. The antiseptic smell intensified, becoming cloying.

Sarah didn’t answer immediately. She stared at the phone, her pale face illuminated by its flickering light. “He wasn’t supposed to… he wasn’t supposed to fail,” she finally breathed, her gaze drifting back to the still form in the bed. “The deal… it was for him to disappear, not… this.”

Panic clawed at my throat. “Deal? What deal? Who are you talking about?”

She pointed a trembling finger at the phone. “The text… it’s from Marcus. He handled things. He made it look like an accident. But… it went wrong. He didn’t just… disappear.”

My mind reeled. Marcus. A name I hadn’t heard in years, a shadow from the past. He was involved in some… shady dealings. I had severed ties long ago, desperate to escape that world. But my father… he never could let go. Was this his life finally catching up to him?

“What deal, Sarah?” I pressed, my voice rising. The nurses, sensing the growing tension, began to approach.

She took a shaky breath, her voice a mere whisper. “He owed money. A lot of money. They… they wanted him gone.”

The buzzer on the phone stopped. The text message was still there. A wave of nausea hit me, and I realized the truth was much darker. The doctor’s words hit me, and I felt that he was going to stay in that state.

“Wait!” I cried out as I realized they were going to pull the plug.

I ran to the nurses and pulled the plug. The doctor rushed to me. He said something about my father, and I could see my sister staring at the screen with a look of relief.

I took a deep breath. “He’s not going anywhere!” I screamed at the doctor.

Sarah, seeing my determination, came and stood by me, knowing what was coming.

“What have you done? Do you have any idea what you have just done?” the doctor said to me.

“I know what is going to happen, and I won’t let it. I will find the one who did this to my father and make sure they pay the price,” I said.

A wave of determination filled me. I would make sure my father was avenged.

Then, a faint tremor ran through my father’s body. His eyelids fluttered. A gasp escaped his lips. And then, his eyes opened. They met mine, filled with confusion, then recognition. He was awake.