She took the piece of paper out of her pocket and reached for her phone. Camille dialled the number she had written and hidden in her coat with shaking hands. No one answered for the first few seconds, which gave her more than enough time to rethink her decision.

The fear and anxiety cut her stomach with a sharp pain. She was about to change her life forever, one way or another. She wasn't afraid of going to jail: a life in prison would be better than the life the had right now. But her husband surviving and finding her...? That was another tale.

"Good morning, Mrs. Hudson" said a male, rough voice through the phone.

It was too late now to go back. She spoke, and her voice sounded less and less unsure which each word.

"Good morning. Did you receive the payment without any issue?"

"Yes, ma'am. Everything's in order. I'll complete my end of the bargain at exactly 1PM, as requested."

The man spoke so calmly, as if the deed had been done already, as if it vas inevitable. She sighed, relieved.

"Good... good. I'll be catching my plane soon, so I won't be able to contact you in the next few hours."

The man chuckled.

"Have a safe flight, ma'am."

He hung up as the taxi arrived at the airport.

Camille put the piece of paper back in her pocket and hugged her suitcase against her chest. It hurt: her skin was still swollen from the last beating. Inside were all of her husband's savings. His paranoia with banks had finally turned against him.

Camille paid the taxi driver with her own money and went into the airport. She already had the plane ticket and had taken care of it like it was her own son. She trembled, remembering how he had blamed her for not being able to have children, even when the tests proved that the problem was his. But his problems wouldn't matter to her anymore. She would never again pay the consequences of a bad day at work, or a meal too cold or a drink too much.

She sat on that comfortable seat in first class and she refused to close her eyes even as she saw most of the passengers falling sleep. A six-hour fly was nothing. She has spent countless nights awake. And nothing terrified her more than opening her eyes and realizing that it had all been a dream, and that she had never found the courage to make that decision.

But she had.

When Camille set foot on the ground again, she took the first steps of her new life in another country across the ocean. She booked a suite in a five-star hotel nearby and decided to walk. She once again called the number hidden in her pocket.

"Is it done?" she asked, too anxious to bother with pleasantries.

"Yes, ma'am. Nice and clean."

"Thank you... thank you so much."

She felt the tears coming and bit her lip to keep the sobs in.

"Just doing my job."

This time, she was the one to hung up. She arrived at her hotel and dried her tears as she crossed the threshold.

He was dead.

She got into the elevator and smiled at the old lady inside. All the way up, her suite was waiting for her. When Camille stepped inside, she felt incredibly tired and happy at the same time. She looked around the luxurious room and smiled at the thought that all her dreams had come true.