Literally.
The ambient heat radiating from my skin plummets as my body instinctively shifts into defensive mode.
Kael does not flinch.
He just continues.
"Once they identified her as a potential vulnerability, they conducted a full background check. Financial history. Employment records. Medical debt portfolios."
He pauses.
"She has a lot of debt, sir."
I know.
I have seen the files.
The eviction notices. The past-due medical bills. The collection agency letters piling up on her kitchen table.
I have seen all of it.
And I have spent the past three weeks systematically dismantling every single financial burden she carried.
But apparently, I was not thorough enough.
"Show me," I say, my voice low.
Kael pulls up another file.
This one is different.
It is not a transaction log or a background check.
It is a contract.
A debt acquisition contract.
Signed two days ago.
By a company I do not recognize:Obsidian Recovery Solutions.
The name is deliberately misleading. It sounds like a subsidiary of my own firm.
It is not.
"They are a predatory collection agency," Kael says. "Specializing in anti-supernatural debt enforcement. They operate in legal gray areas, purchasing distressed debt portfolios at a fraction of their value and then using aggressive tactics to extract payment."
My claws dig into the edge of the console.
"How much?" I ask.
Kael's jaw tightens.
"All of it," he says. "They purchased one hundred percent of her unresolved debt. Back-rent. Medical bills. Credit card balances. Everything."
The holographic display shifts again, revealing a detailed breakdown of Tamsin's financial liabilities.
The numbers are staggering.
