Chapter 3

Arlen went straight from the bank into an underground casino.

Inside of three days he'd blown through the whole hundred thousand and taken on a mountain of loan-shark debt on top of it.

To buy himself room to breathe, he started running his mouth at the tables.

"My niece is CEO of a tech company. Worth tens of millions."

"And now she's *Mrs. Garden*."

"You're worried I can't pay? A little bit of what falls between her fingers would cover every dime I owe you."

The loan sharks immediately turned their attention to Ella.

They pushed Arlen to squeeze more money out.

This time they weren't asking for anything less than a million.

For the last few nights I'd been hiding in the alley across from Ella's building, quietly trailing her.

That evening Ella worked late—very late.

By the time she reached the parking garage, Arlen and four heavily tattooed men had her surrounded.

Arlen had a knife pressed against her car door.

"Ella. Lend me a million. Just to tide me over."

"Otherwise, you don't walk out of this garage tonight."

Ella went white. Her keys dropped to the concrete.

"I don't have that kind of money! This is robbery!"

One of the men reached for her hair.

"Enough talk. Call Mr. Garden and ask for it!"

I came out from behind a support pillar at a dead run.

In my left hand I had pepper spray. I hit the one grabbing her straight in the eyes.

He screamed, dropped to the ground clutching his face.

In my right hand I had the mop handle. I swung it hard at Arlen's head.

"Don't touch her! You animals!"

Arlen clapped a hand to his bleeding scalp and howled.

"Beat this crazy old bitch to death!"

The other three swarmed in. Fists and boots rained down on me.

I heard the sharp crack of a rib giving way. Blood spilled out of my mouth.

But I hung onto Arlen's leg with both arms and shouted at Ella.

"Get in the car! Lock the doors! *Drive!*"

Ella stared at me in shock.

Then, in the chaos, she grabbed the keys, dove into the car, slammed the locks down, and dialed 911.

Ten minutes later, cruisers came pouring into the garage.

The men scattered. Arlen was pinned to the pavement.

I was hauled up too.

In the interrogation room at the station, Arlen sat with gauze wrapped around his head, pointing his finger at me and Ella and spinning the story around.

"Officer, this is a family matter."

"That old woman there is my brother Cash's wife. That's my niece."

"They took my money and won't give it back. I only brought guys along to help me collect what I'm owed!"

The officer turned to Ella.

"Mrs. Garden. Is that accurate?"

Ella straightened the disheveled lapel of her jacket.

For the sake of the company's reputation, she looked the officer in the eye and kept her voice level.

She pointed at Arlen.

"Officer, I don't know this man."

Then she pointed at me.

"This woman—Rita Moses—used to be my mother. But that relationship was cut off a long time ago."

"Whatever loans she's tangled herself up in have nothing to do with me."

"I reserve the right to pursue charges against them for threatening my personal safety."

She stood up and walked out of the station.

Because I had a prior for assault, the officers kept me for further questioning.

Arlen leaned in close beside me, laughing against my ear.

"You old whore. That little bitch is cold. She doesn't care whether you live or die."

"One million. If I don't see the money by tomorrow night—"

"—then I'm putting every detail online. How Cash walked into her room that night. How she cried and begged. Every last piece of it."

"I'll make sure she lives inside that nightmare for the rest of her life."