"Unemployed."
That was all that echoed in Augusto's head, from the moment he woke up until he went to sleep. And honestly, not even his dreams gave him a break. He had an eight-year-old kid, a wife, and a dog the size of a damn elephant to take care of. And he was unemployed.
That Friday would mark three weeks. He still had some savings and could use them to pay next month's bills, but he knew that wouldn't last long.
Living in São Paulo was expensive as hell. Keeping up with the house they lived in was outrageously costly. Just like that, the lifestyle of a pediatrician with twenty years of experience got yanked away from the family.
"Budget cuts," they said. Yeah right—he knew exactly what that meant. Being head of pediatrics at one of the country's top hospitals came with a huge load of responsibility, and one screw-up by a doctor under his watch months ago ended up costing him his job. They cooked up the "budget cuts" excuse, but Augusto knew the real reason—and thinking about it just made his blood boil.
They called him into a meeting room at the hospital. The board members looked nervous, and Augusto had no clue why—until the oldest partner started talking. His words came out all jumbled and shaky. Augusto heard fear in the man's voice, but didn't even get a chance to ask anything. They started rambling about needing to cut costs, how the pediatric unit was over budget, and how his salary was higher than the others. Then they just slid some papers across the table—his termination papers—and told him to drop them off at HR.
Twenty years of work. Gone in under twenty minutes. Just like that.
Samuel, his best friend, had been waiting outside the room. Augusto remembered his words clearly:
"Man, I tried to warn you, but I got there too late. I overheard those bastards saying they were gonna fire you today, no matter what."
Augusto Vianna and Samuel Osller had been friends since med school. They studied and trained side by side from day one. Sam was just as pissed about the whole situation as Augusto was.
But the worst part? He couldn't land another job no matter how hard he tried. He sent his résumé to several hospitals across São Paulo—nothing. Not even a rejection email. He called a few times, but the people on the other end always seemed annoyed, rushing to end the call like he was a bother.
The only offer he got came just an hour after signing his termination papers. It was an email. A pediatrician position in a town called Rio Denso. Augusto had never even heard of the place. A quick search told him it was a tiny town in Santa Catarina with, like, 2,000 people—according to Wikipedia, at least.
He didn't even consider it. Maybe it was safer for his son Rob out there, but the message felt off. Gave him an instant, gut-level discomfort.
Still, the job hunt went on. And the "weird" emails kept showing up. Always the same message:
From: weneedadoctor@riodenso.com.br
To: augustovianna@gmail.com
"We need a pediatrician. Be our pediatrician. Rio Denso, Santa Catarina, needs you, Dr. Augusto Vianna."
Every time, Augusto did the same thing—select, delete.
Then the WhatsApp messages started. Same as the emails. By the end of the day, he'd sometimes have over 500 of them. He started getting freaked out. Worried for his family's safety. He even went to the police. They filed a report, told him to go home—and that was that.
Days passed. Messages kept flooding in. Delete, delete, delete. And still—zero responses from over fifty job applications.
One day, just as he was heading out to drop off more résumés, his phone rang. Without checking the number, he answered.
On the other end was a woman's voice. She sounded about fifty.
— "Good morning, Mr. Vianna. We need a pediatrician. You're a pediatrician, right? Oh, I think you are. We need you. Come to Rio Denso. Come to Santa Catarina. We'll give you a beautiful house, Mr. Vianna. The view will take your breath away. Say yes. Come to us."
Augusto lost it. He cursed the woman out—every word that came to mind. Completely out of character for him. In the end, he told her never to call again and hung up.
Didn't help. The calls kept coming, every 30 or 40 minutes, always from different numbers. He eventually stopped picking up unless it was someone he knew.
"Today's your lucky day! Sending you good vibes," Elisa, his wife, would say every time he left to hand out résumés. And that always stung. He knew he'd come back with nothing. Just a bigger stack of unanswered applications.
Then came Friday morning. The knocking started. Loud and persistent.
Knock-knock. Once. Twice. Three times. Just before the fourth, Augusto opened the door.
Standing there was a tall man with brown hair and a gleaming smile. Augusto stared at him for a few seconds before asking:
— "Can I help you?"
The man's smile faded a bit.
— "Why yes, Mr. Vianna. What else, if not to offer you a job? The one job you've been refusing for weeks now. An offer that, in my opinion, is too good to turn down."
Augusto tried to close the door. The man blocked it with his left hand.
— "Don't do that, Doctor, or you'll never find a job again. Not as a doctor, not even cleaning septic tanks. You'll lose everything and end up on the streets with your family. There'll come a day you'll think about killing the dog just to feed them. And maybe... maybe you'll even think about eating each other in the end. Is that the future you want for them?"
The man straightened his collar, and smiled again.
Augusto froze. Something in the man's tone—his calm, creepy confidence—sent every internal alarm blaring. He opened the door wider, letting him go on.
— "So, Mr. Vianna, our only hospital in Rio Denso is world-class. We need you because of your reputation. When we heard you were fired, we reached out immediately. Since you ignored our emails, messages, and calls, I had to come in person."
Augusto couldn't move. Couldn't even speak. All he could think about was Elisa and Rob. What if these people were the reason he couldn't get another job? They were dangerous... deranged.
The man continued:
— "We're asking you to move to Rio Denso in two weeks. You'll be chief physician. We'll give you a gorgeous house at the top of the hill. You'll see the whole town from there, Mr. Vianna. There's plenty of space for your son and your giant dog to play. And I'm sure the scenery will inspire Elisa for her next novel. Like I said before—an offer you really shouldn't refuse."
Augusto got the message. The guy wasn't just talking about a job. He was letting him know: We know your family. Refuse us, and you won't just stay unemployed.
The man handed him a card, staring at him with those small, intense green eyes.
— "You've got three days to get back to us. After that... no more deal."
He turned and walked away.