ella

ks sound again and my heart

" my fathe

dges me

should go? I'm just as

My legs shake. Clara watches me from the top with her phone out like she is about to record this moment for posterity. Dad stands by

before I reach

tattoos crawling up his neck. The second one is younger with curly black hair and a leather jacket. The third man wears a gray suit that probably costs more than my entire y

miles. It does not reach h

topped working somewhere

to collect the debt your fath

mbles. My father loses. I pay

ff whatever he owes. I have two jobs alread

very admirable. But we are not

is a good worker. Very obedient. She will do whatever

e I am a used appliance

g takes all her strength. Maybe it does. "Please," she says, her voice cracki

woman I have worked myself into exhaustion fo

ear myself say.

the wall and waves at me with her perfectly manic

. Just cracks. Like a window that gets

s toward the d

shoes. I look at Elena. She wipes fake tears from her ch

are going t

en. The man with the shaved head opens it. Cold air rushes in. Chicago smells like rain and car exhaust and something burning a few blocks away. The black car idle

is is for all of us. You understand th

, I might scream. I might say things I

he interior smells like money. I slide inside and the door closes behind me with a heavy,

from the curb and I watch my house disappear through the window. The flickering porch light. The cracked w

cleaner. The cars parked along the curbs look like they have never seen a pothole. We drive through downtown where lights reflect off glass towers

way curves through landscaped grounds that look like something from a magazine.

e to clean a place like this. But I take a deep breath, I

opens my door. I step out onto cobblestones that are probably older than me

y," Matt

s. A staircase that curves up to a second floor. Artwork on the walls that I recognize from textbooks. I suddenly feel very aware of m

Every surface gleams. I count four security cameras before I stop

voice says

door and gestures

ide. Even though I don't know the man, the thought of meet

made from wood so dark it looks black. Bookshelves line one wall. A fireplace crackles on a

someone tried to kill him and almost succeeded. He wears a black suit that fits him like it was made specifically for his body. Which i

a problem he needs to solve. W

initely

. My heart is almost beatin

voice still is no

it

he door as he leaves. Now it is just me and this man who I assume is Dante Valerio. The man my father owes three million dollars. The man

ry not to fidget. I fail. My hands t

why you are h

ey," I say quietly. "I

that might be amusement flickers ac

I promise I will not be a problem." The words tumble out fast.

to

loses so fast my t

s chair. "Your fath

me w

e to scrub my fl

tops it. If I am not here to clean, then why am I here? My m

papers. He slides them across the desk

m in front of my eyes. I see phrases like "binding agreement" and

e certi