The Man Everyone Abandoned

The Girl Who Was Never the Target

The pharmacy on Miller Street felt way more crowded than Elias remembered. A long line of grumpy people waited near the counter, and everyone was complaining about the sticky heat while the pharmacist ran around trying to find medicine.

Elias could feel the heavy envelope tucked inside his jacket and thought about the weird instructions Gabriel gave him. Gabriel had just told him to give the envelope to the pharmacist, and that was it.

The whole thing felt like a strange mystery, and it made Elias feel a little bit nervous as he waited his turn.

When Elias finally got to the front of the line, he cleared his throat to get the man's attention and said, "Excuse me."

The pharmacist looked up with a tired face and asked, "Yes?" Elias took a breath and told him that he had something from Gabriel Thorne.

Right away, the man's face changed like he knew exactly who that was. "Gabriel?" he asked, and Elias just nodded as he pushed the envelope across the counter.

The man grabbed it quickly and hid it under the cash register. He whispered that he would look at it later, which made Elias feel a bit confused, but since the man didn't say anything else, Elias turned around to walk away.

Suddenly, a girl's voice shouted over the noise, and she sounded really upset when she said, "That's impossible!"

Everyone in the store stopped and looked over. A young woman was standing at the counter with a red face, looking like she was about to cry while she argued with the cashier. She held up a small piece of paper and insisted that she already paid for the medicine.

The cashier just shook his head and looked like he didn't care at all. He told her that she hadn't paid for anything yet.

"I gave you the money," she argued, but the cashier just ignored her and said she gave him nothing.

The woman held up her receipt so he could see it, but he barely even looked. He told her that a receipt wasn't proof that she actually paid.

The girl looked around the room like she was hoping someone would help her, and she explained that she really needed the medicine for her brother.

When the cashier told her she should have brought enough money, her voice started to shake as she said, "I did!"

The cashier sighed because he was getting annoyed and told her to step aside so he could help the other people in line.

A few customers started whispering mean things about her, and Elias heard one person say that students always think they can get away with stuff. Another person even suggested she was trying to steal the medicine.

The girl's eyes filled with tears as she pleaded that she wasn't stealing, but nobody in the pharmacy seemed to believe her or care about what happened.

Elias stopped by the door and hesitated because the whole thing felt totally wrong to him. He watched the argument and looked closely at the receipt and the nervous way the cashier was standing.

He thought that something was definitely off, and suddenly he felt like he knew exactly what to do. He walked back to the counter and asked the woman if he could see the paper.

She looked at him like she wasn't sure if she could trust him, but she handed him the receipt anyway.

Elias looked at the paper for a few seconds and asked her what kind of medicine she bought. She told him it was insulin for her brother, and Elias asked her how much it cost. She said it was twenty-eight dollars.

Elias looked over at the register with sharp eyes and asked the cashier if he could see the list of sales. The cashier got really defensive and asked who Elias was.

When Elias said he was nobody, the cashier told him to mind his own business.

Elias just ignored the mean comment and looked at the pharmacist who was watching from the back. He told the pharmacist to check the very last sale that went through.

The cashier crossed his arms and acted stubborn by saying he didn't have to prove anything. Elias stayed very calm and said that was true, but he pointed out that if the girl was telling the truth, the sale would still show up on the computer screen.

The pharmacist walked over because he could tell things were changing. He said he would check and pulled up the history on the screen while the girl waited with a worried face.

Everything was quiet for a few seconds until the pharmacist frowned and said that it was strange.

The cashier asked what was wrong, and the pharmacist explained that there actually was a payment for twenty-eight dollars in the system.

The woman pointed at the computer and shouted, "That's mine!" The cashier stepped forward and looked like he was panicking as he said that was impossible. The pharmacist looked at him and asked why it was impossible. The cashier started to stutter and said he remembered her and was sure she didn't pay for the medicine.

Elias looked at the receipt one more time and suddenly figured it out. He told everyone to look at the time on the screen, which showed the sale happened at 10:42.

Then he held up the girl's receipt and showed that it said 10:39. He explained that there was a three-minute difference, and the pharmacist looked totally shocked.

Elias looked the cashier right in the eye and said the only way that could happen was if the sale was deleted and then put back in again later.

The whole pharmacy went silent as the cashier's face turned white. He tried to say he didn't do it, but the pharmacist quickly checked the computer records and got a very angry look on his face.

He said that someone had definitely cancelled the original payment. The woman looked like she couldn't believe it as she said she knew she was right.

The pharmacist looked at the cashier with a cold voice and reminded him that he had accused the girl of stealing when she actually paid. The cashier didn't have anything to say.

The pharmacist apologized to the woman and told her she could go as he handed her the medicine. She took it with shaking hands and told him thank you, then she turned to Elias and thanked him too.

Elias felt a little bit uncomfortable with the attention and said she didn't really need his help since the proof was on the paper. She smiled and said she was glad he noticed it anyway, then she introduced herself as Lena.

Elias told her his name, and she held out her hand so they could shake. She said her full name was Lena Carter, and he told her he was Elias Kane.

As soon as he said his last name, Lena looked surprised and asked, "Kane?" Elias stopped smiling because he knew what she was thinking, and he confirmed that he was David Kane's son. She nodded and they both stood there in silence for a moment.

Lena looked a little awkward, but then she said she was sorry. Elias told her she didn't have to be, and she explained that she wasn't going to say anything mean about his family.

She looked down at the medicine and mentioned her brother really needed it, so Elias told her she should go take it to him. She gave him a big smile and thanked him again before walking away.

Elias felt a little better as he watched her leave because it was the first time since his dad died that someone looked at him like a normal person instead of focusing on his family's bad reputation.

Across the street, a man put down his camera after watching everything that happened. He looked at the pictures of Lena and Elias on his screen and then answered his ringing phone. A voice on the other end asked if he had confirmation, and the man looked back at the pharmacy. He said yes and told the person that she was there.

After a short pause, the voice asked about the boy. The man looked at Elias again and said he was with her. When the voice asked if Elias was the target, the man looked at them both and said no. He lowered his voice and said they had finally confirmed who the real target was, and then the phone call ended and the man walked away.

Elias walked out of the store a few minutes later and stepped into the busy street. Everything seemed normal to him as he fixed the envelope inside his jacket and started walking back to Gabriel's building. He had no idea that a man had been following him the whole time.

The man stood across the street and watched him leave, then he called someone to report that Elias was heading back. The voice told him to let Elias go but warned him not to lose the girl, and the man said he understood.

Elias got lost in the crowd and didn't realize that the girl he helped was about to be part of the scary secrets his father kept. He didn't know that someone had been watching Lena for a long time.

For now, Elias was just happy that he forgot about the fire and the lies for a few minutes. He didn't know it yet, but meeting Lena was the start of a journey into a dangerous world that his father had tried very hard to keep hidden from him.