"So... How much did will borrow in my name?" She asked being totally stressed out, as both her and Mrs. Maurice stared back at Levi.
Levi replied saying, "Williams took Twelve million from Fabio."
The numbers hit Mira like bricks.
Twelve Million.
She sat there frozen, her hands clamped together so tight her nails cut into her skin. Will's name echoed in her head, loud enough to drown everything else out. The man she once loved hadn't just left her — he'd sold her life, her future, her peace, for money he never planned to pay back.
"Fabio doesn't forgive, Mira," Levi said quietly, leaning forward on his knees. His voice was steady, but his eyes told another story. "This isn't some small-time street hustler you can ghost. Fabio Hernandez… he eats people alive for debts way smaller than yours."
Mira's throat burned. "Twelve million?" The words cracked out, disbelieving. "For what? For what, Levi? He—he put that in my name? He just—"
Her chest heaved, the room blurring. Mrs. Maurice rubbed her back gently, whispering, "Breathe, child, breathe…" But Mira's lungs didn't want to cooperate.
Levi sighed and dragged a hand over his face. "He's ruthless. Doesn't care if it's you or Will or a damn stranger who coughs up the money. He'll break bones, wreck homes, hell, take lives if he has to. And twelve million? That's the kind of debt people don't walk away from."
Mira's vision went hot, tears spilling over as her body shook. "I didn't ask for this. I didn't borrow a dime! Why am I the one—why am I the one stuck paying for his trash?"
How was she going to solve this problem, who was going to help her... Mira knew well that there is no way she could pay that bastard's debt in Six years, talk more about that in Eight years.
And there was no way she could let her Father or her Aunt Joy know about this— It will break them. She could not afford to lose them after losing her mother.
She had to solve this quickly, but how can she do it?
'That Jerk- Will! ' She cursed him inwards.
Silence pressed heavy on them. Levi looked down, ashamed, then stood. He dug into his jacket, pulled out a thick envelope, and dropped it on the table. The stack inside hit with a dull thud.
"That's two-point-three million," he said flatly. "I'll cover that much. Don't ask me why — just call it… old times."
Mira blinked, stunned. "Levi, that's—"
"Don't make a thing out of it." He cut her off quick, jaw tight. "Just take it."
Before Mira could even process, Mrs. Maurice stood and shuffled to her bedroom. When she came back, her hands were trembling, holding a smaller envelope. She placed it right next to Levi's.
"Eight hundred thousand," she said softly. "That's all I have left, Mira. But I'd rather see you alive and fighting than watch that man come for you."
Mira's heart cracked. She stared at the table — the two envelopes, the numbers swimming in her head. 3.1 million.
Her chest caved in, and before she knew it, her face was buried in her hands. She sobbed, her body folding over like the weight was too much to carry.
Levi crouched in front of her, his voice low. "Hey. Listen to me. You've got three-point-one down. That's a start. I'll take it to Fabio tonight. Ease him, buy you some time."
Her tear-filled eyes lifted to his. "Time? That man doesn't look like he knows what patience is."
"You're right. He doesn't." Levi's tone was blunt. "But I'll make him swallow it. I'll tell him you'll pay four-fifty every month. No excuses. No delays. Fabio doesn't like slow methods — but four-fifty shows effort. It shows fight. That might keep him off your neck."
Mira sniffled, wiped her face. "Four-fifty… every month? That's insane."
"It's survival." He stood, his face already hardening back to the man who worked for monsters. "Find a job, Mira. Something steady, intense, whatever you can get. Don't stop. You pay him every month, or Fabio will treat you worse than he treats his enemies."
She nodded weakly. "Thank you. Both of you."
Levi gathered the envelopes, stuffed them into his jacket, and motioned for his men to fall back. "I'll take this to him tonight. Stay low. Don't let him catch wind that you're slacking."
Levi called his men off from futher attacks, with one last look at Mira — unreadable, caught somewhere between old friend and hired gun — he was gone.
Mrs. Maurice took Mira by the hand and comforted as they both stepped into the building, the hallway was already buzzing. Neighbors leaned against doors, whispering sharp words that weren't meant to be whispers.
"There she is," one muttered.
"Bringing trouble to the building."
"I knew she was up to something shady."
"No wonder those loan sharks came looking."
The crowd of tenants grew bolder when they saw Mira's pale, tear-streaked face.
"You need to leave," a man from the third floor barked. "We won't have your mess endangering all eleven families here. Get out before more of them show up!"
Mira froze, her stomach twisting. The stares burned into her skin like acid.
Before she could speak, Mrs. Maurice stepped forward, her voice ringing sharp enough to cut through the gossip.
"Enough! You don't know a damn thing about this child. Stop running your mouths like you're saints. Mira is no criminal — she's the victim. And the one you should be pointing fingers at is Will, the coward who dumped his debt on her back!"
The hallway went dead silent. Eyes widened. Mouths clamped shut.
A few exchanged uneasy looks, embarrassed. Others just shook their heads.
"Still," someone muttered, "twelve million… that's no small thing."
Mira couldn't take it. The shame, the pity, the judgment all swirling into one suffocating storm. She turned to Mrs. Maurice, her voice low. "I'm going inside. I can't—please, I just can't right now."
Mrs. Maurice touched her arm gently. "Go, dear. Rest. Let me handle them."
Mira slipped into her apartment, closing the door behind her. Mrs. Maurice lingered outside, her gaze heavy on the door for a long second before turning to the crowd.
"Show's over," she said coldly. "Go back to your lives and leave this girl in peace."
Slowly, grudgingly, the tenants dispersed. But the weight of their stares clung to the hallway like smoke.
In City M...
Night draped itself heavy over the city as Levi pushed into a narrow alley, the air damp with rot and shadows. The building at the end looked abandoned — cracked windows, peeling paint — but the inside was alive with something far darker.
Fabio Hernandez sat in a leather chair like a king in his throne, rings glinting under dim light. At his feet, a young woman lay curled on the floor, her body bruised, her hair dyed a faded pink. Her eyes were swollen from crying. She didn't even look up when Levi entered.
Levi laid the envelopes on the table without a word.
"Three-point-one," he said. "She'll pay the rest. Four-fifty every month. I'll make sure of it."
Fabio raised a brow, his lips twitching into a grin that wasn't humor. "Levi Maxwell… helping a girl? Didn't know you had that in you."
Levi's jaw tightened, but he didn't rise to it. "She's good for it. I'll keep her in line."
Fabio leaned forward, his eyes sharp as knives. "You believe you've got everything under control, then?"
Levi nodded once. "Yeah. I do."
Fabio hummed, then turned his gaze to the girl on the floor. His expression twisted into something colder than ice.
"See this one?" he said casually. "Her father owed me money. Couldn't pay. So he gave me his daughter instead."
Levi's hands clenched.
Fabio's grin widened. "That's how I handle slow payers. If your little friend Mira doesn't keep up… she'll be worse off than this one."
The girl whimpered, curling tighter into herself. Fabio didn't even glance at her.
"Take that message back with you," he finished, waving Levi off like dismissing a servant.
Levi's chest burned with rage, but he kept his face stone. He grabbed the envelopes, placed them neatly in Fabio's hands, and turned to leave.
As the door slammed shut behind him, one thought pounded in his head — Mira had no idea what kind of storm she was walking into.