THE NIGHT EVERYTHING CHANGED
THE NIGHT EVERYTHING CHANGED
CHAPTER 1
And meeting him would change her life forever.
She didn’t know it yet, but the man standing in front of her was Vos Rhein.
Zebina shook her head.
“Are you hurt?”
For the briefest moment, something about him seemed wrong. His eyes caught the light strangely—almost silver.
Neither spoke.
She looked at him.
He looked at her.
Tall. Dark suit. Cold expression.
A man stepped out.
The passenger door opened.
Zebina held her breath.
A black car rolled slowly into the parking lot.
Then headlights appeared.
She pressed herself against a wall and covered her mouth, trying to control her breathing.
She ran until her lungs burned, until the voices disappeared, until she reached the parking lot across the street.
Zebina didn’t look back.
“Catch her!”
Behind her, she heard the door slam open.
Her shoes slipped against the wet pavement as she sprinted down the alley.
Out the back door. Into the rain.
She didn’t think. She simply ran.
She ran.
Her blood turned cold.
“You’re a pretty girl.”
The man smiled.
“What do you mean?”
Zebina backed away.
“Since your father can’t pay, perhaps you can.”
One of the men stepped toward her.
Her father had promised her. He had promised he was finished gambling.
Zebina’s eyes filled with disbelief.
“Gambling.”
“Lost it?”
“I lost it.”
He looked down.
“Where did you get that kind of money?”
She almost laughed. Not because it was funny. Because there was no way her father could ever repay that.
Five hundred thousand.
Zebina stared at him.
“Five hundred thousand.”
“How much?”
Silence.
“How much?”
“I borrowed money.”
Her father finally looked at Zebina.
“Tell her.”
“Please.”
“Tell her.”
The man grabbed his shoulder.
“Dad?”
Her father wouldn’t look at her.
“What money?”
Zebina took a step backward.
“You should have thought about that before you borrowed our money.”
The man laughed.
“Leave her out of this.”
Her father swallowed.
“So this is your daughter?”
It wasn’t a friendly smile.
Then one of the men smiled.
Nobody answered.
“Dad… what are you doing here?”
Her heart began pounding.
Every head turned.
“Zebina.”
His face went pale.
Zebina’s father looked toward the doorway.
“You said that last month.”
“I’ll pay you.”
“Five hundred thousand,” the man said. “You had three months.”
One of them had blood on his knuckles. Another was holding her father’s collar.
Three men surrounded him.
Her father stood against the wall.
The moment she pushed the door open, her stomach dropped.
She walked toward the hallway.
“Dad?”
She slowly put the glass down.
Her father.
She knew that voice.
Zebina froze.
“I told you I need more time.”
A man’s voice rose above the others.
She looked toward the back hallway.
Angry.
This was different.
Not the usual kind.
Then she heard shouting.
She sighed and reached for another glass.
She should have been home an hour ago. But the manager had asked her to stay. Again.
11:47 p.m.
Zebina wiped the last glass on the counter and glanced at the clock.
Rain hammered against the windows of the bar.
