The text was from Stella Delgado.
I hailed a cab to Westhill Residence.
Five years. I'd assumed the single-family villa in Fort Valor Military District had changed hands long ago. Instead, it stood before me, ablaze with light and decorated like a fairy-tale castle.
The lawn was packed with guests, the air thick with expensive perfume and glittering jewelry.
Stella stood at the center of it all, wearing a diamond tiara and a custom white couture gown. She clung to my uncle's arm.
They stood before a six-tier cake, surrounded by adoring onlookers.
Stella clasped her hands together, her voice dripping with sugar. "My wish is to be the only princess in Uncle Sebastian's heart. Forever and ever."
Uncle Sebastian smiled and retrieved a square blue velvet box from his uniform pocket.
The lid snapped open.
My blood turned to ice.
Inside sat a pair of jade bangles.
The James family heirlooms, passed down for generations. Tradition dictated they were reserved strictly for daughters-in-law of the house.
I remembered my eighteenth birthday. Uncle Sebastian had placed those very bangles in my palm. Savvy, whether you accept me or not, you will always be my most precious princess.
I had guarded those bangles with my life. Even in my darkest moments, I'd protected them.
Now, those lustrous bands had been resized. Inside, a new name was etched: Stella Delgado.
To thunderous applause, he solemnly slid them onto Stella's slender wrists.
"Congratulations, my little princess. Your wish is granted."
I didn't remember leaving. I only became aware of myself again when my phone buzzed incessantly.
I saw you at The Regent, sis.
Did you get a good look? The bangles are mine. And so is Uncle Sebastian.
You looked like a stray dog. Pathetic.
Why don't you just die? Save us the trouble. Hee hee.
Oh, and I had Uncle prepare a "birthday surprise" for you. Enjoy.
I wandered the freezing streets like a ghost, numb to the cold.
Night had fallen by the time I returned to my dilapidated apartment block. That was when I realized what Stella meant by "surprise."
My front door stood wide open.
The apartment was a wreck, as if a storm had torn through it.
Sebastian was on his knees, hands twisted behind his back. His pristine military uniform was smeared with dust.
He struggled against his captors, veins bulging along his neck.
"Long time no see, sweetheart." The leader rolled a toothpick between his teeth. "Rent's due on the debt."
The blood drained from my face. "I paid everything off. Every cent."
"Paid off?" The man scoffed, grinding his heel into Sebastian's spine. "The debt is cleared when I say it's cleared. Don't want to pay? Fine. Let's see how much your precious uncle can take."
"Savvy... run!" Sebastian gasped. "Don't worry about me! Let them kill me... I'm just a cripple anyway!"
The script never changed.
Over the last five years, I'd heard these exact words a thousand times.
I closed my eyes, exhaustion seeping into my bones.
They'd "collected" countless times, yet Sebastian never walked away with so much as a bruise. Meanwhile, I'd suffered broken ribs, a permanent limp, and financial ruin to protect the man who was deceiving me to my core.
The metallic tang of blood rose in my throat.
"What do you want?" I rasped.
The man looked me up and down, his gaze dripping with contempt. "Crawl through our legs. For every guy you crawl under, bark three times like a dog. Do that, and we'll call it entertainment instead of debt."
"No! Savvy, don't do it!" Sebastian roared, eyes bloodshot as he feigned a desperate struggle.
A numb, bitter smile tugged at the corner of my mouth.
