The hospital courtyard offered little respite from the late afternoon heat. Emma sank onto a bench, pressing the heels of her hands against her stinging eyes. The bills in her lap might as well have been bricks for all the weight they carried. The numbers blurred together— another round of chemotherapy, another mountain of debt.
It had been almost two weeks since Oliver froze all her accounts, and she could barely find a way to survive. All her salary went to her mother’s medical bill, still it was piling up. On top of that, the debt was still there.
What am I gonna do? How am I gonna pay it all up!
Her phone rang. The screen flashed a number she didn’t recognize— but she already knew.
With a sigh, Emma picked it up. “Hello?”
“Fifty thousand. By tonight.”
The voice was cold. Unforgi
