Bound By Contract, Claimed By Love

Chapter 3: Broke and Desperate

The red envelope was waiting for Sophia when she got home from her shift at the restaurant.

She knew what it was before she even picked it up. Final notice. The words were printed in bold letters that seemed to scream at her from the kitchen table.

Sophia's hands shook as she tore it open. Two thousand dollars. Due in ten days or the medical billing company will take her to court.

Two thousand dollars she didn't have. Would never have.

She sat down hard in the only chair that didn't have a broken leg and stared at the number. It might as well have been two million. After working two jobs for six years, she had exactly forty-three dollars in her checking account and some loose change in her purse.

Her phone rang. The sound made her jump.

"Sophia, thank God you answered." David's voice was rushed, scared. "I need help."

Her little brother. The one person left in the world who shared her blood, and he only called when he wanted something.

"What's wrong now?" Sophia asked, even though she already knew she didn't want to hear the answer.

I messed up. "Really bad this time." David's voice cracked. "There are these guys, and they want their money, and if I don't pay them by Friday?"

"How much?"

Silence. Then "Five thousand."

Sophia closed her eyes. "David, what did you do?"

It was supposed to be easy money. This guy said I could double my tuition money if I just made some bets. But the games didn't go the way he said they would, and now"

"You gambled on your tuition money?"

"It wasn't supposed to happen like this," David was crying now. "I just wanted to have enough for school and maybe some left over to help you with Mom's bills." I know you've been carrying everything alone.

Sophia's chest hurt. Her baby brother, who she'd practically raised after their dad left, was crying on the phone because he'd thrown away his future on some scammer's promises.

Just like their dad would have done.

"Where are you?" Sophia asked.

"Campus. Hiding in the library. These guys, they know where my dorm is. They know where I go to class. They said, "If I don't pay up, they'll make sure I never make it to graduation."

Fear shot through Sophia like ice water. "Are they threatening to hurt you?"

"I don't know. Maybe. I'm scared, Sophia. I don't know what to do.

Sophia looked around her tiny apartment. The couch with springs poking through the cushions. The refrigerator only worked if you kicked it just right. The stack of bills on the table that kept growing every month.

She was twenty-four years old and felt like she was drowning. Had been drowning for years.

"Okay," she said quietly. "I'll figure something out."

"Really? You will?" The hope in David's voice made her heart break all over again.

"Yeah. Just stay in public places until I call you back. Don't go anywhere alone.

"Sophia, you're the best sister in the world. I swear I'll pay you back. This will never happen again.

That's what he'd said the last time. And the time before that.

After David hung up, Sophia sat in the dark and tried not to cry. She'd been strong for so long. Strong when their mom got sick. Strong when their dad walked out. Strong when she had to drop out of college to take care of everyone. Strong when her mom died and left her with bills that would take a lifetime to pay off.

But tonight, she didn't feel strong. She felt tired. So tired she could barely breathe.

Her phone buzzed with a text from Mrs. Patterson, her homeowner: Rent is three days late. Pay up or get out.

Sophia stared at the message. Rent was eight hundred dollars. She'd been putting Mrs. Patterson off for a week, promising to have the money soon. But soon it never came.

She opened her laptop and logged into her bank account, even though she knew what she'd found. Forty-three dollars and eighteen cents. Her tips from tonight wouldn't be deposited until tomorrow, and even then it would maybe be another sixty dollars.

Not enough for rent. Not enough for David. Not enough for the medical bills.

Not enough for anything.

Sophia put her head in her hands and finally let herself cry. Big, ugly sobs that came from somewhere deep inside her chest. The kind of crying she hadn't done since the day her mom died.

She cried for the art classes she used to love teaching before the school cut her hours. She cried for the college degree she'd never finished. She cried for the life she'd imagined when she was eighteen and thought anything was possible.

Most of all, she cried for the scared little girl inside her who'd been taking care of everyone else for so long, she'd forgotten how to take care of herself.

When the tears finally stopped, Sophia felt empty. Like someone had scooped out everything inside her and left nothing but bones and skin.

She picked up the final notice again. Two thousand dollars in ten days. Plus rent. Plus, whatever she could scrape together for David.

Seven thousand dollars total. Maybe more.

She could ask Elena for help, but Elena was barely making ends meet herself. Could ask the school for an advance on her paycheck, but they'd already said no twice.

Could call her dad.

The thought made her sick. James Chen, who'd walked out on his family when things got hard and now lived comfortably with his new wife and twin daughters. Who sent a Christmas card every year to make up for abandoning his kids when they needed him most?

He probably had seven thousand dollars in his wallet right now.

But Sophia would rather sleep on the street than ask him for anything.

Her phone rang again. Elena this time.

Hey, girl. "How was the work tonight?" Elena's voice was warm and familiar.

"Fine," Sophia lied.

You don't sound fine. What's wrong?"

Sophia almost told her everything. Almost broke down and admitted that she was drowning and scared and didn't know how to keep going. But Elena had her own problems. Her own bills to pay.

"Just tired," Sophia said.

"Okay, but you know I'm here if you need to talk." Elena paused. "Also, totally random, but you know that guy you spilled wine on tonight?" The rich one?"

Sophia's stomach dropped. "What about him?"

He left a tip for you. A big one."

"How big?"

"Like, massive. Mr. Romano didn't want to give it to you at first because he thought it was a mistake. But the guy insisted."

Sophia's heart started beating faster. "How much?"

Five thousand dollars, Sophia. He left you five thousand dollars.

The number hit her like a punch to the chest. Five thousand dollars. Enough to help David. Enough to buy her some time with the other bills.

Enough to make her feel like maybe the universe wasn't completely against her.

"That's impossible," she whispered.

"Mr. Romano has the check. "You can pick it up tomorrow." Elena's voice was excited now. "Sophia, this could change everything for you."

After Elena hung up, Sophia stared at the wall and tried to process what had just happened. Alexander Stone, one of the richest men in New York, had left her enough money to solve at least one of her problems.

Why would he do that? He didn't even know her.

But as she got ready for bed in her tiny apartment with its broken furniture and overdue bills, Sophia felt something she hadn't felt in years.

Hope.

Maybe tomorrow will be different. Maybe things were finally about to change.

She had no idea that Alexander Stone was

Already planning to change her life in ways she couldn't imagine.

And she definitely had no idea that the money was just the beginning.