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He didn't rush me. Instead, he reached into his coat.

A thick stack of crisp hundred-dollar bills bound with a bank seal slammed into my face.

The sharp paper edge scraped my cheekbone. Bills scattered across my chest and feet, covering the floor like snow.

"Ten thousand dollars."

Chad pulled out two more stacks and threw them at me. "Twenty. Thirty..."

Nine stacks total. They hit me until I staggered backward, green bills flying through the air.

"Your mom's lying in St. Mary's waiting for surgery, right? My private doctor was consulting in the ER ten minutes ago. Heard her moaning your name." Chad unbuttoned his coat, face twisted with sick satisfaction, and stepped over the cash. "Ninety grand buys your pathetic mother's life. Ruby. Beg me."

He lunged. Grabbed my wrist. Knocked the shears from my hand.

"Chad! Let go! You animal!!"

"I chased you for a year! Wasted all that time on you like a dog! And some old man gets to fuck you first?" His eyes bulged red. He tore at my hoodie, hot breath hitting my collarbone as he shoved me toward the narrow couch. "Tonight you're gonna make me feel good, and this ninety grand is yours! Strip! Show me whatever whore tricks you learned in Moretti's bed! He gets to fuck you—so do I!!"

His rough hand dug into the soft flesh at my waist.

My mother's fading heartbeat. Isabella's curse. Chad's twisted grin. Green bills scattered everywhere...

Every shred of dignity, every line I swore I'd never cross—reality ground it all into bloody pulp.

The whole world was crushing me.

A tidal wave of grief and rage tore through my throat. I stopped retreating. Tears mixed with fury poured from my eyes. I drove my fingers into Chad's eye socket and slammed my knee into his groin as hard as I could.

"FUCK!"

Chad howled and stumbled back, clutching his eye and crotch.

I grabbed a wad of bills off the floor and threw it in his face with everything I had.

Paper exploded into the air.

I fought off his next grab, screaming.

"So what if I slept with him for money? So what if I'm a whore—you'll never touch me! At least Marcelo pays me! At least he's a real man, and you're a piece of rotting trash! I need the money! I NEED IT!!"

"Bitch! You hit me?"

My resistance didn't stop him. It lit a fire. His face contorted with pain and rage. He backhanded me across the face.

Pain detonated in my skull. My ears rang. Stars burst across my vision. I lost my balance and fell backward onto the threadbare couch.

Before I could recover, Chad's body crushed down on me like a mountain.

His athlete's build pinned me completely. I couldn't move.

His knees forced my legs apart. He wedged himself between my thighs, trapping me in the cramped couch.

"You need money? I've got plenty!!"

Chad snarled, one hand clamping my jaw so hard I thought my bone would crack. His other hand clawed at my shirt. Fabric ripped, the sound tearing through the room.

My hoodie split open, exposing my faded cotton bra underneath. Cold air bit into my heaving chest.