Desperation.
The kind that made people do unthinkable things.
I stepped closer. Not threatening. Just inevitable.
"Your father's bills come due in three weeks. You don't have the money. You don't have options. And the people he borrowed from before the hospital?" I tilted my head slightly. "They're not patient. They're not kind. And they don't accept payment plans."
"Stop."
"You asked how I know." I held her gaze. Steady. Unblinking. "I know because I bought his debt. All of it. Three days ago."
The words landed like a blade between ribs.
She staggered back half a step. Hit the counter. Stayed upright through sheer stubbornness.
"You—" Her voice disappeared. Came back thinner. "Why would you?—"
"Because now you owe me instead."
Silence crashed between us.
The kind that shattered glass and splintered bone.
I let it stretch. Let her mind race through every implication. Every trap she'd walked into without knowing the ground had shifted beneath her feet months ago.
When I spoke again, my voice stayed calm. Matter-of-fact.
Like I was discussing terms for a business transaction instead of dismantling her entire life.
"Six months. In my home. In my bed. You do what I say, when I say it, exactly how I want." I paused. Let each word carve its mark. "And I'll erase every cent your father owes. Hospital bills. Old debts. Everything."
Her lips parted on a breath that didn't become words.
I watched emotions flicker across her face too fast to name. Horror. Disbelief. Rage.
And underneath—buried so deep she'd deny it existed—Consideration.
"That's—" She tried to speak. Failed. Tried again. "You can't be serious."
"I've never been more serious in my life."
"That's prostitution."
"That's survival."
She flinched like I'd struck her.
I didn't move. Didn't soften.
This wasn't negotiation.
It was inevitability.
"You're insane." Her voice shook. "Absolutely fucking insane if you think I'd ever?—"
"Three weeks, Belle." I kept my tone gentle. Merciless. "That's how long you have before the collectors come. Not for money. For collateral."
Her breath hitched.
