Callie leaned against the wall, deep in thought. Her phone rang again after a short while, another unknown number, but this one was from Ylosea. She frowned.
“Who is this?” she asked.
A man’s voice, sinister and cold, came through. “Miss Marsh, want to keep your brother alive?”
A blatant threat. Callie’s eyes widened in shock. Joaquin! She gripped her clothes tightly, trying to remain calm. “Don’t threaten me! If you did your homework, you’d know I’m not Joaquin’s real sister. I won’t save him!”
“Wow?” The man on the other end laughed, and it sounded like there were many people around him. “Did you hear that? Even your sister won’t save you, you piece of trash!”
There was a sound of a knife slicing, followed by Joaquin’s pitiful screams, “Sis! Sis! Help me!”
Callie froze. “Who are you? What do you want?”
“What do you think? Your brother owes us over half a million! You have half an hour to bring the money to Club Paradise, or I’ll kill him!” It was a debt collector!
Half a million…
“No way! I checked his credit report. He only owes around two hundred thousand. Don’t try to scam me!”
“Hahaha, two hundred thousand!” They laughed even harder, like it was the funniest joke ever. “Do you even know what he borrowed? It’s a loan shark debt! Interest rolls over thousands each day. It’s way over half a million now!”
Loan sharks… These people were serious; they could actually kill someone!
Callie’s palms were sweaty. “I have no money; I can’t save him. In fact, I was wondering how to punish him. Go ahead, do it for me!”
She hung up abruptly.
At that moment, Tobias and the head nurse walked out of the hospital room. Seeing Callie pale and sweating, Tobias reached out to check her temperature, looking very worried.
“What’s wrong? Callie, are you feeling okay?”
Callie didn’t move, looking past them at Reuben lying in the bed, his face weathered with age.
“Nothing! Something urgent came up, I have to go!” Callie shook off Tobias’s hand and hurried down the hall, breaking into a run until she disappeared.
So Joaquin had been missing because he was in the hands of loan sharks!
Outside, it was dark. Callie hailed a cab and told the driver to take her to Paucaster Villa Complex. As the car moved steadily, she rested her head against the window, trying to stay calm. Joaquin had done terrible things and deserved to face the consequences.
But Reuben’s face kept flashing in her mind, along with his words from her childhood: “You two may not be blood-related, but you’re closer than real siblings. Never let anything come between you.”
At first, Callie wanted to treat him like a brother, but he and his mother were so cruel, they had become strangers over the years.
Joaquin’s screams and Reuben’s advice echoed in her mind. Callie closed her eyes tightly, on the verge of breaking down. “Sir! Change of plans, take me to Club Paradise!”
Club Paradise, a notorious hotspot in Ylosea, rumored to be run by the underworld!
Callie stood outside the grand, opulent place, gritting her teeth. She had finally given in. She had nothing on her, let alone half a million. Even if she sold herself, she couldn’t come up with that kind of money.
She called back the number from earlier. It picked up quickly. “What? Has Miss Marsh changed her mind?”
“Which room?”
“Room 307, just say you’re here for Trevon Wilcox and come right up!”