The call came in on his office landline.
“Tony Blackwell? We want two million dollars in small bills, or your wife eats a bullet.”
Tony laughed. “She’s a whore. I don’t give a damn about her. Do you know how many times she’s cheated on me?”
“Hey, man, I’m sorry, but she’s still your wife. You must have some feelings for her.”
“Not at all,” Tony scoffed, and hung up the phone.
A few minutes later, the phone rang again.
“Mr. Blackwell, I repeat: we want two million dollars in small bills, or your wife dies. And don’t even think about calling the police.”
“Why would I call the police? I told you, I don’t care about the bitch.”
The voice on the other end became more insistent. “We’re not playing around, Tony. You either agree to fork over the money, or your wife dies. I don’t care how many men she’s screwed.”
“Screw her, and screw you!” Tony slammed down the receiver. What a jerk, he thought to himself. With his luck, it was probably just a hoax, anyways.
The phone rang again. Tony hesitated before picking it up.
“This is your last chance, Mr. Blackwell. You either agree to deliver the money, or we kill your wife right now.”
Tony had had enough of this extortion. “I worked too hard for my money to give it away to some crook. If you want my wife, you can have her.”
The silence on the other end of the phone was deafening. Then Tony heard it, the blast of a shotgun splitting the silence. With grim satisfaction, he hung up the phone.
-DAWN PISTURINO
Dawn Pisturino is a retired registered nurse in Arizona, USA whose publishing credits include poems, limericks, short stories, and articles. Please visit her at Dawn Pisturino’s Blog.
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MasticadoresIndia // Editora: Terveen Gill 
Dawn writes a powerful story that leaves me wondering whether to feel sorry or satisfied at the end. A disgruntled husband, a cheating wife, and unlucky kidnappers. Probably should have done their homework before choosing their target. I like how the man keeps his cool and doesn’t budge from his decision. Maybe saved him the trouble of getting rid of her himself.
Congratulations Dawn!
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Thank you so much, Terveen!
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I’ve got it up on my blog! “I want to thank Terveen Gill for publishing my story, You Can Have Her, today on Masticadores India. Terveen is very supportive of writers, and I encourage you to submit your poems and stories to her. Please visit Masticadores India to read the whole story.” Thank you, Terveen!
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Congratulations Terveen for a great post by a brilliant writer, Dawn Pisturino! Cheers.
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Oh, Wow! That brilliant a story with a surprising twist at the end. Congrats once again, Dawn!
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Thank you so much, Khaya!
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Great story Dawn. The way you set this up I could tell this guy was a jerk and didn’t love his wife at all, my guess that is why she fooled around. Marriage has certainly taken a beating over the years and doesn’t mean much to so many people. What did surprise me at the end that even hearing the sound of the shotgun brought him relief and pleasure. Just a great write. It makes me sad because I do believe some people just stay married because it is a convenient. They don’t want to even be bothered with trying to make it work. Congratulations Dawn, big hugs, Joni
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We won’t break up. We’re staying together because of the dogs…..
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Thank you, Joni! I really appreciate your feedback.
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Dawn, I was caught up in the story! The ending surprised me. I could go on, but I don’t want to give anything away in case someone hasn’t read it through. A tense story for me.
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Thank you so much, Barbara!
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Interesting Dawn…..
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That’s haunting, and awesomely created and conveyed, Dawn!
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Thank you, Jeff!
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Nice story and twist Dawn.. loved the read and Congratulations! ❣️
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