Chapter 4

Julie came by the apartment at 6:00 pm. She stood at the door, her eyes bloodshot.

Her voice trembled as she said, "Your dad called me, saying that you had taken out a high-interest loan to buy this dump. Milo, have you lost your mind?"

"Come in. I'll tell you why I bought this place."

Julie hesitated for a few seconds. She then bit her lip and walked inside.

I guided her to the wall, crouched down, and pressed the metal detector against it. It started beeping.

Julie froze. "What is that?"

"It's a metal detector." I looked up at her. "There's something inside this wall."

She gaped. "Could your dream actually have been real?"

I didn't even flinch. "Yeah. I wasn't convinced, so I came over to see for myself. There really is something in the wall.

"Tonight, I'm going to tear it down. If there really is gold inside, we'll get married tomorrow and buy a high-end apartment. All your friends will be so jealous of you."

Julie teared up. She rushed over and wrapped her arms around me.

"I'm pregnant," she said, her voice muffled against my chest. "I found out two days ago. I was going to abort it after we broke up…"

Julie looked up at me, tears staining her face. "Milo, don't let me down."

"I won't. After tonight, everything will be fine."

At 9:00 pm, the neighborhood was completely silent.

I pulled a sledgehammer and a crowbar out of my bag. Julie sat on the couch, anxiously wringing her hands.

Just before I swung the sledgehammer, I didn't know what came over me. I spoke to the wall. "I'm sorry about this. Once I get the money, I'll renovate this place."

But the old voice didn't respond.

I suddenly felt uneasy, but the feeling disappeared almost as quickly as it came. I already heard the metal detector go off. How could I be wrong?

I brought the sledgehammer down. A large chunk of plaster fell off, revealing the red bricks underneath.

I tossed the sledgehammer aside and dug at the bricks with my bare hands. Broken pieces began raining down.

The space behind the brick wall was empty. My hand froze in midair.

"Where's the gold?" Julie peeked over my shoulder.

Without a word, I began tearing out the bricks from the whole wall like a madman. The opening grew wider, revealing the entire hollow space.

There was still nothing.

"That's impossible…" My voice became shaky.

Julie's hopeful expression faded, and she went deathly pale. "Milo, don't scare me."

I hurled a brick at the ceiling, and the plaster ceiling gave way after just one hit. A cloud of dust came raining down on my face.

I reached inside and felt around, but all I felt was more dust. There was nothing up there.

I slumped to the floor, surrounded by bricks and plaster chunks. I was trembling from head to toe.

Julie crouched beside me, covering her mouth. Tears streamed through the gaps between her fingers.

"Milo, where's the gold?"

I opened my mouth, my face pale. "Julie, hear me out…"

Julie shot to her feet, wiping the tears from her face. "Milo, I'm getting rid of our baby. You're on your own!"

She then turned and dashed out the door.

I sat alone amid the wreckage. Above me was a large hole in the plaster ceiling, exposing the pitch-black space above.

The room was thick with dust, mingled with the musty smell of old plaster.

Just then, my phone rang. It was Dad.

I answered the call, and Mom's tearful, hoarse voice came through the phone. "Milo, you need to come home now!

"Your father just had a heart attack. He's at the hospital right now! The doctor said he needs emergency surgery, but I don't have enough money…"

My phone slipped from my hand, falling to the ground, and the screen shattered.

"The metal detector clearly went off. How could there be nothing?" I muttered to myself in the empty apartment, but there wasn't even an echo.

I fixed my gaze on the wall I had smashed open. Just when I thought I had gone numb from despair, the familiar old voice suddenly rang out again.