Chapter 1
I was two days away from losing everything.
The email blurred on my cracked phone screen.
FINAL NOTICE.
If payment is not received by Friday, your enrollment will be terminated.
Friday.
Today was Wednesday.
I let out a shaky breath, pressing fingers to my temple. I wished I could push the problem away.
“Any luck?”
I saw Mia leaning against the café counter, arms folded, watching me with concern.
I forced a smile. “Unless you know someone willing to drop twenty thousand dollars on me in the next forty-eight hours… no.”
She winced. “Damn.”
Yeah. Damn.
I grabbed my bag, slinging it over my shoulder. “I’ll figure it out.”
I had to.
Currently failure wasn’t an option.
Not after everything I’d already sacrificed to get here.
.
The message came an hour later.
Unknown Number.
I almost ignored it.
Almost.
But something...desperation, instinct, made me open it.
“I have a proposition for you.”
My brows pulled together.
“What kind of proposition?” I typed back without thinking.
The reply came instantly.
“One that solves your financial problem.”
My heart stuttered.
That should have been my first warning.
“Who is this?”
Three dots appeared.
Then:
“Alexander Kane.”
The name meant nothing to me.
Yet.
“Meet me tonight. 8 PM.”
A second message followed.
“Wear something appropriate.”
I stared at the screen, unease curling in my stomach.
This was insane.
Suspicious,possibly dangerous.
I should block the number.
Delete the message.
Walk away.
But then I glanced back at the email still open in my mind.
FINAL NOTICE.
Friday.
Slowly, against every rational thought…
I typed:
“Where?”
The answer came with an address I had to Google twice to believe.
A private penthouse.
In one of the city’s most expensive buildings.
My pulse quickened.
This wasn’t normal.
Nothing about this was normal.
And yet…
I was already reaching for something better to wear.
