Escape Pod 1003: Billionaire’s Tears

Escape Pod

Escape Artists Foundation

Fiction, Drama, Science Fiction

4.7 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 24 July 2025

⏱️ 35 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Billionaire's Tears By Vanessa Ricci-Thode I wake up to the sound of screaming, and know I’m going to die. I shoot out of bed, calling for my mother. First thing I’ve spoken clearly in two days. “Maria!” My mother bursts into my room. “Baby, what’s wrong?” “S-sorry, Mamma,” I whisper, frantically searching for the right syllables so I don’t trip over them and give it all away. I can’t let Mamma suspect I’m dying—or how soon it’ll happen. “Nightmares.” Mamma’s smile is sad. The world’s finally getting better, but not for everyone. For us, still struggling, it’s like it’s only getting worse. Everyone in the family has been having nightmares. But when Mamma accepts my explanation and doesn’t seem bothered by the screaming that surrounds us and has not stopped, to me, anyway, that’s when I know. I have a week tops if I’m lucky.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Morning, this week's EscapePod has some pretty foul language.
0:04.6	Listener discretion is advised. BOD, Episode 1003, Billionaires want to say again, we've hit 20 years.
0:55.3	We've hit 1,000 episodes.
0:57.5	And I just want to say thank you for listening and continuing to listen.
1:01.3	Today's story is Billionaire's Tears by Vanessa Ricci Thode.
1:06.1	Vanessa is a Nebula-nominated word sorceress who loves a good story.
1:10.1	He's a Halloween enthusiast
1:11.5	and a bookish geek who loves dragons, dogs, astronomy, and travel. If she's not hibernating,
1:17.3	she can be found in her butterfly garden, achieving her final form as a garden witch.
1:22.0	She lives in Waterloo, no, the other one, with her spouse, daughter, and very good dogs.
1:28.5	It's narrated by her own indefatigable Valerie Baldez.
1:32.4	Valerie lives in an elaborate and mean palace with her husband and kids, where she writes,
1:36.5	edits, and moonlights as a muse.
1:38.7	When she isn't co-editing Escape Pod, she enjoys crafting bespoke artisanal curses, playing
1:44.0	video games, and admiring
1:45.4	the outdoors from the safety of her living room. Her debut novel, Chilling Effect, was shortlisted
1:50.6	for the 2021 Arthur C. Clark Award, and her short fiction and poetry have been featured in
1:55.8	Uncanny Magazine, Magic, The Gathering, and several anthologies. Writing as Leah Amador, her first
2:02.9	contemporary fantasy romance novel, Which You Would, is forthcoming from Avon Books September
2:08.8	2025. You can pre-order now. This story is an escape pod original. But check your bank
2:15.5	balance before you settle in. It's story time.
2:21.0	Billionaires Tears by Vanessa Richie Thode, narrated by Valerie Valdez.
	...

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