"Always a pleasure doing business with you, ma'am," he says, his tone laced with smug satisfaction, that same cold, calculating smile stretching across his face. He knows I'm running out of options, and it shows in the way his eyes flicker over me, like a predator circling its prey. I clench my jaw, trying to keep my composure as my account hits zero. The weight of every won gone feels like a noose tightening around my neck, my lips slowly turning bluer by the day, slowly dying. I can't let him see the panic crawling up my throat, not yet. But with each payment, I can feel the walls closing in, the desperation sinking deeper into my bones.
15 parts