“And who’s going to pay for your brother’s rehab? He’s practically paralyzed.”
“What about your dad’s gambling debts, huh? Or have you forgotten how he got down on his knees, crying like a dog, begging me not to leave you?”
Everything she said hit like a punch to the gut. She knew exactly where to aim—every weak spot, every vulnerability—and she never missed. That was her power over me. That was how she always won.
Bitterness welled up in my chest like something sour I couldn’t swallow.
For the first time, I truly understood what people meant by the broken windows effect—how one small crack, left unchecked, could lead to collapse.
“Luna, would you finally sign the papers if I got down on my knees?”
Before she could even respond, I was already on the floor. I’d done so many humiliating things over the years—this was just one more to add to the list.
This one gesture, however, pushed Luna over the edge.
Luna yanked me to my feet and dragged me into the study on the first floor. In a flash, she shoved me down, pinned me beneath her, tore off my tie and used it to bind Seth to the leg of the desk.
Seth's clothes hit the floor in an instant. Luna’s heavy breathing came in broken gasps as papers flew everywhere like confetti in a storm.
I looked at their tangled legs before shutting my eyes in anguish. A tear slid down my cheek. How many times had this happened?
I’d lost count. Almost everyone Luna brought home ended up in the same twisted scene. I was always the one left to clean up after.
I didn’t know how long they kept going. My whole body eventually went numb and consciousness slipped away.
It wasn’t until my phone started ringing non-stop that I realized the study was finally empty, left in utter chaos.
“Cyrus? We’ve got your dad. If you don’t bring the money by six, he won’t live to see tomorrow.”
My heart barely reacted. Numb. Just numb. “How much this time?”
“Four hundred fifty thousand.”
That number still made me flinch, no matter how numb I felt inside.
***
I glanced at the clock, it was 3 a.m. Outside, the night was pitch black—like ink that refused to fade.
The door creaked open. Luna stood there, completely naked, a lit cigarette glowing between her fingers.
“Luna, I need four hundred fifty thousand,” I said quietly.
She just laughed, locked the door and didn’t even look at me.
That night, I didn’t sleep—not for a second.
By six, the sun had begun to rise.