I Did Nothing When My Husband Was Locked In a Burning BuildingChapter 1
The moment my neighbor burst into my home, his voice a frantic mix of panic and urgency, I felt my stomach drop.
"Maya, your factory's on fire!"
I didn't stop to think. Throwing on the nearest coat, I bolted outside and ran. The dark smoke billowing in the distance was unmistakable.
When I reached the entrance of the factory, chaos greeted me. My cousin Lucia and my mother-in-law, Evelyn, stood near the locked entrance. Both were frantic and Evelyn even pounded her fists against the electronic door.
"Break the door down!" Evelyn's voice cracked, hoarse from screaming. Her face was streaked with tears as she hit the door again and again.
Lucia stood beside her, arms flailing, her face flushed with panic and streaked with sweat. She paced like a caged animal, her hands trembling as she shouted toward the growing crowd of onlookers.
"Someone's inside! We need to open this door now!"
The moment Lucia saw me approaching, her eyes widened with a mix of desperation and anger. She stumbled forward as if her legs could barely hold her weight, grabbing my arm for balance before pointing at the fire.
"Harvey is inside!" she screamed, her voice raw and breaking. "Hurry up and save your husband! You have the card and only you know the password!"
Sweat dripped down the back of my neck as I turned my gaze toward the factory. My throat tightened and my chest felt heavy, but I shook my head helplessly, my voice oddly calm amidst the hysteria.
"Let's call the fire department for help," I suggested, pulling out my phone. My fingers glided over the screen with a slowness that seemed to contrast sharply with the frantic energy around me.
Evelyn spun to face me, her face twisting into an expression of pure fury. Her voice trembled as she jabbed a shaking finger at me.
"He went in there to find the accounting records for you and now it's on fire! But you're just standing here? Watching? Are you even human?"
I held her gaze, unmoving. Her wild eyes searched mine for something—remorse, fear, panic—but I shrugged instead, my shoulders rising and falling with a casualness that only seemed to inflame her further.
"The fire's too big," I said. "What if I get hurt?"
——
Evelyn gasped. Her face contorted into something primal—a mix of grief, disbelief and pure hatred.