The husband k.icked his wife and children out, but his mistress followed them, handed her $10,000, and quietly said, “Come back in three days… there will be a surprise waiting for you…”

“And who are you in all of this?” she asked after a long pause.

The woman met her gaze directly.

“My name is Rachel Turner, and I work for the people he owes.”

The ground beneath her felt unstable as her children held onto her tighter.

“But I am also a mother,” Rachel added softly.

Something in her voice softened the tension slightly.

“When I saw your file and your children, I knew you were not part of his mistakes,” she continued.
“So I made a deal.”

“What kind of deal?” she asked.

“That he disappears completely and never contacts you again,” Rachel said. “In exchange, you and your children are left alone.”

Her heart nearly stopped.

“Disappear completely?”

“Yes.”

“And he agreed to that?”

Rachel shook her head slightly.

“He did not have a choice.”

Silence filled the space again, heavy and final.

“Is he still alive?” she asked, her voice trembling.