Chapter 3

Before I could open the door, Adriana caught me by the wrist.

"Isaac, stop acting like a child."

She pulled a key card from her handbag and pressed it into my palm.

"Come back with me. This is for a penthouse downtown. I've already had it cleaned and ready. You and Mrs. Graham can move in tonight. I had my reasons for what happened back then. I'm back now so I can give you both a good life. I'll pay off all your debts."

I flung my hand back as if I'd touched something filthy.

The key card clattered to the ground.

Meeting her gaze, I said emphatically, "Adriana, we don't need your charity. We've had nothing to do with you ever since you stole that 300 thousand dollars."

At the mention of 300 thousand dollars, Adriana's expression darkened. She thought I was keeping score.

"300 thousand dollars? Isaac, what if I pay you back 30 million dollars now? Would that be enough?" She let out a cold laugh, her eyes full of contempt.

"You'd rather rot in a place not even a dog would live in than accept a better life. Move out tonight. Don't make Mrs. Graham suffer just because of you."

I looked at her and suddenly felt a deep sense of sorrow.

In her eyes, that 300 thousand dollars was really nothing more than a loan.

And now she had returned in glory to pay it back a hundredfold, and we were supposed to fall over ourselves with gratitude. Then, we'd all be one big happy family again, just like before.

It made me sick.

I bent down and picked up the key card.

Adriana smiled mockingly and said, "See, that wasn't so hard—"

"Get the hell out!" I hurled the key card back at her with everything I had.

The hard edge of the card sliced across her cheek, leaving a red welt.

Adriana froze, as if she couldn't believe I had actually hurt her.

"Save it for your own coffin. Now get off my doorstep before you dirty it!"

Her shock turned to fury. She let out a cold laugh and smoothed back her hair.

"I see you've grown a spine in the last three years. Fine, let's see how long you can keep it up."

Adriana's retaliation came swiftly.

When I showed up for my shift at the convenience store the next day, I hadn't even reached the door when I saw the closure notice plastered across it.

Mr. Finley was crouched by the curb, smoking. His face was clouded with worry.

"Mr. Finley, what happened?" I asked.

"Someone reported us for fire code violations and selling expired food. We've been ordered to shut down until we pass inspection."

Mr. Finley gave a bitter laugh and looked at me.

"Isaac, word came down from someone with pull. We're just a small business—we can't afford to cross the wrong people."

My heart sank.

Even though the convenience store was small, Mr. Finley always kept the fire extinguishers up to code. Moreover, he checked the expiration dates on the snacks every few days, so there was no way he would ever sell expired food.

It was obvious this was aimed at me.

Not wanting to cause Mr. Finley any more trouble, I handed in my resignation.

I thought as long as I was willing to grind, I could always find a way to survive.

However, I underestimated Adriana, a lunatic who'd once gambled everything she had on a single bet. People like that were always more ruthless than the rest.

Because of the debt, I never finished school. With no degree and no skills, the only thing left for me was food delivery.

But I had barely finished my first order after signing up when the platform banned my account without any explanation.

I went to a construction site to haul bricks. Less than half an hour in, the foreman stormed over and told me to get lost.

I even tried handing out flyers, but city enforcement chased me down and slapped me with a fine.

I applied to sweep the streets, and even the sanitation department said they didn't want me.

For three whole days, I didn't earn a single cent.

All I had left in my pocket were two protein bars. I sat on a park bench, forcing them down one bite at a time.

That was when Brenda appeared again.

This time, she didn't offer me a card. Instead, she looked down her nose at me with a contract in hand.

"Mr. Graham, Ms. Hampton is in need of a personal assistant. The salary is ten thousand dollars a month. She said rather than working for other people out there and making her look bad, you should come work off your debt where she could keep an eye on you.

"After all, she hasn't forgotten how Mrs. Graham helped pay off her debts back when her family was being torn apart."

At the mention of Mom, I froze mid-bite.