Ipark across the street from the dealership and take a deep breath. My hands are locked around the steering wheel like it might bolt if I let go.

Or maybe that’s just me. I feel bad for being here asking for money I know Jack won’t have.

I’m also stealing time I don’t have. I left the school early to get here, and I have to get back to the coffeehouse for the late shift. And I’m going to be late. Beth won’t like that, but I’ll just have to find a way to get around her.

I take another breath and glance around my surroundings, taking in the gloominess of the place.

Harper Auto Sales. This was what became of our family’s investment firm.

Everything about the dealership looks temporary. Like it was never meant to last.

Sun-bleached flags flap weakly above rows of cars packed too close together, their paint dulled by age and exposure. Handwritten price tags stare out from windshields. The asphalt is cracked, weeds pushing through in stubborn little lines that refuse to die.

This isn’t where my brother was supposed to end up. But such is life.

I spot him through the glass office window.

He hunches over a cluttered desk with a calculator in hand. The sleeves of his shirt are rolled up, the fabric at the elbows worn thin and shiny.

He looks… tired.

Not the kind of tired that sleep fixes. The kind that settles into your bones when life keeps taking and never gives anything back.

My chest tightens.

For a second, I consider starting up the engine and leaving. Then I remember the man Marcus sent to scare me.

He’s getting too close for comfort. I’m at the stage where I need to try everything.

Jack is the last person I can ask for help. When I do this, I’ll have no one left to turn to.

I just hate feeling like I’m taking advantage. Jack is seven years older than me and has always been the best big brother.

There’s nothing he wouldn’t do for me. I’ve always known that. That’s why I feel like such a jerk.

A shaky breath falls from my lips as I open the door and step out.

The cool breeze loosens my mind, but the weight in my stomach doesn’t lift.

I head to the office on trembling legs and walk into the scent of rubber and cheap coffee.

Jack’s door is already open.

He looks up the moment I approach. Surprise flashes across his face first, followed by a heartfelt smile that reminds me of happier days. No matter what is going on, Jack always looks happy to see me. When we were kids, he’d always make the bad times seem less bad.

Like when Mom first got sick, and then when she died. The biggest thing he did for me, though, was take care of me as best as he could after Dad died and the business went under.

I was sixteen at the time. Jack made sure I could still go to school, and he worked hard to make sure I could finish college without needing to tap into my trust fund and savings.

He always finds a way, so I’m praying he can help me now.

“Elodie. Hey, there.” He moves around the desk and pulls me in for a hug.

“Hi.” When we pull away, I summon one of my best smiles, even though all I want to do is cry and never stop. “Sorry to just turn up unannounced. I know we weren’t supposed to meet for another few weeks.”

We have a standing dinner appointment for the last Friday of every month. It’s our way of checking in on each other.

“No worries. What’s going on?”

I gaze up at him and think of where to start. “I’m…” My voice trails off, and suddenly, the words escape me. I then realize there’s no best way to explain my situation. It’s bad, and that’s exactly the problem. My life’s a bomb waiting to detonate. Another sad ending waiting to happen.

“Elodie, you’re worrying me.” Jack rests his hands on my shoulders, his touch steady even as his expression darkens. “What’s going on?”

My chest feels too tight to breathe. “Jack.” I raise a hand to my heart. “I’m in trouble.”

He goes still, then his hands tighten on my shoulders, fingers digging in like he’s bracing for impact. “What kind of trouble?”

“The real bad kind.”

Jack swears under his breath, his hands dropping. “Jesus, El.” He fixes me with a hard look, jaw set. “Tell me everything.”

My gaze drops to the floor, to the scuffed tile between our shoes. I count a breath. Then another. When I look back up at him, something settles inside my chest. Not courage. Just acceptance.

Then I tell him about Clara and her loan. I tell him how I blew all the money in my trust fund and savings and how I had to take on the job at the coffeehouse to pay the loan. Then I tell him about Marcus and watch the color drain from his face when I do.

I tell him about the calls, the warnings, the way the debt stopped feeling like numbers and started feeling like a countdown. I don’t soften it. I don’t dress it up. I tell him like it is.

By the time I finish, my throat burns and my hands shake with the terror stirring in my soul.

Jack throws his hands up, then drops them to his head, his pulse pounding in the side of his neck like he’s just been struck by lightning. “Jesus, Elodie. What the fuck?”

“I’m sorry. I never thought Clara would screw me over like this.” Of course, I wouldn’t. I’ve known her all my life. It wasn’t as if I just blindly placed my trust in a stranger.

“It doesn’t matter. You should never have stood guarantor for that amount of money.”

“I thought the loan was supposed to save her grandmother. I lost contact with Clara when we moved away for college, so I didn’t know her grandmother had died years ago.”

“El, this is the kind of thing you check out. Ask for details with evidence to show what you’re paying for.”

“I know. I just didn’t think. I didn’t think. And she was paying the loan off in the beginning, so I never thought I’d have a problem.”

“She was probably stringing you along with that, too. Making it look legit so she could leave you hanging high and dry.” He makes a tight fist and slams it into the desk, making the documents shake.

“Jack, I don’t know what to do. That’s why I came to you.”

He shakes his head slowly. “El… you’re looking at paying at least twelve grand now to satisfy a guy like Marcus. You know I don’t have that kind of money.” He exhales, rubbing a hand over his face. “I’ll try to help you if I can, but not right now. Everything I have is tied up in this place. It’s barely staying afloat.”

He gestures around the office. “If I sell a couple of cars a month, that money goes straight back into keeping the lights on. Inventory. Repairs. Bills.” His mouth tightens. “The only thing I’ve got going for me is that I own it outright. And even that doesn’t mean I’ve got cash to spare. Then you have the rest of the loan to worry about. It’s almost two hundred thousand. We can’t pay that back.”

The words land heavier than I expect. Not because I didn’t see this coming, but because hearing them makes it permanent.

Something inside my chest gives way, quiet and sharp. I force myself to breathe through it, to keep my expression neutral, to nod slowly, like I’m taking in instructions instead of a refusal.

“It’s okay… I understand.” My child-soft voice comes out barely audible. “I just had to ask.”

“I know. Oh, El… if this were a few years ago,” he mutters, jaw tightening, “I wouldn’t even hesitate. If everything hadn’t gone to hell, this would’ve been nothing. I could’ve fixed this in a heartbeat.”

Jack’s jaw tightens, anger bleeding into his expression. His gaze hardens as something ugly flickers across his face. I don’t have to ask what—or more specifically who— he’s thinking about.

Dorian Vale.

Jack always gets that look when he’s thinking about his ex-best friend. The instant any mention is made of the past and the thriving business we used to have, Dorian is the next thought. Because he was our last lifeline and chose not to help us.

What would Jack do if he knew I ran into him this morning?

What would he say?

I doubt Jack has seen Dorian in recent years. They don’t run in the same circles anymore, and Jack has no reason to go to Wall Street.

My stomach clenches. It’s best not to say anything about Dorian Vale. Why add salt to a wound that will never heal?

Jack places his hands on my shoulders again. “Go to Marcus. Talk to him. Tell him the situation.” His grip tightens slightly. “I think he’ll respect you more. Might even show some compassion if he sees you’re trying to pay him, especially after Clara skipped out.”

He sounds like a desperate man, one clinging to a truth he made up to ease his conscience.

So, I don’t tell him I already went to Marcus.

I don’t tell him I already explained about Clara. And I definitely don’t tell him Marcus’ response was that it wasn’t his problem, and he didn’t care how I got the money. Only that I paid it.

I keep more secrets to myself, slowly dying inside.

“Okay. I’ll do that.” I nod, knowing I can’t approach Marcus again without a plan.

I get back to my apartment just before midnight.

After I left Jack, my brain slipped into a mindless autopilot mode where I went along with the motions without my mind being present. But now that I’m home, where I can break down, reality has come crashing back in with all the ugly terrors.

I park my car and make my way inside the building, enveloped by the sense of doom. The light above my door flickers when I reach it.

Tears I’ve been holding back all day are already streaming down my cheeks before I open the door and walk in.

I don’t turn on the light. Instead, I close the door behind me and lean against the wall, allowing the tears to fall.

The place feels smaller than usual. And the air tight like someone drained it all away.

Or maybe that’s just me. Because the walls are closing in on me and I’m stuck. Stuck and out of options.

What the hell am I going to do?

Damn it. I’ve been asking myself that same fucking question since this nightmare began. And still no answers.

Every day is worse than the last. More terrifying. More soul-crushing.

I scrub at my face with the heel of my hand, annoyed at myself for falling apart like this. Crying won’t fix anything. It never does.

Dragging in a sharp breath, I push off the wall and straighten.

Calm. That’s what I need. To steady myself, if only to think clearly and focus.

I reach for the light switch. It clicks, and the overhead bulb flickers once before buzzing to life.

I turn to head down to the bathroom but stop cold when I see the man from this morning sitting across from me in the armchair.

My heart bottoms out, plummeting through the earth when he smiles.

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