When loyalty meets leverage, even the toughest code of silence can crack.
Grab-Hold First Line
Johnny Polati always said he’d never rat, not for money, not for freedom, not for anything. But he never thought they’d come for his mother.
Flash Fiction Prompt
Johnny Polati lived by one rule: never rat out your friends. It wasn’t just a street code—it was his gospel, the one thing that kept him standing tall in a world of broken promises and backroom deals. But Agent Nina Grace knew his weak spot. Sliding the folder across the table, she spoke with icy precision: “Your mother’s passport will be revoked by morning. No Switzerland. No treatment. Unless you tell me what Mazanno’s moving next.”
The room seemed to shrink. Johnny could hear his pulse louder than her words. His mother—the one person who had never judged him, who had prayed for him while he made every wrong turn—now depended on him breaking the only rule he had left.
Outside, the city throbbed with neon indifference. Inside, Johnny felt the weight of two lives balanced on his silence. He wondered if loyalty was worth watching his mother die, or if betrayal was the only way to love her back.
❓ Reflection Questions
- What weighs more heavily—loyalty to a friend or love for a parent?
- Can betrayal ever be justified as an act of devotion?
- How would you end Johnny’s story—with silence, or with surrender?