Frank closed the folder on his lap and looked up. "I didn’t know you had some secret perversion for cheating people out of their money."
Matthew didn’t even look up from the tablet in his hand. "It’s not my fault. They were the ones who wanted to bet."
Frank studied him for a moment. "You’re weird."
Matthew tapped something on the screen and then set the tablet aside. "You just figuring that out now?"
"You can’t ask me that, it’s been years since I last saw you." Frank leaned back in the chair. "Alright, here’s a better question—why are you pretending you’re not the heir of the Lindberg family?"
Matthew picked up the bottle of water beside him. "It’s peaceful that way."
Frank raised an eyebrow. He didn’t need to ask why. He already knew the real answer. The incident years ago hadn’t exactly been a secret in the right circles.
"So, who’s this Lenox guy they keep mentioning?" Frank asked.
Matthew twisted the cap off the bottle. "He’s the one who saved me back then."
Frank tilted his head slightly. "Oh? I didn’t know that."
"My father kept it a secret," Matthew said. "To protect Lenox."
Frank nodded and didn’t press further.
"They’ll retaliate, you know," he said after a while. "They agreed to serve you tomorrow, sure—but that’s only because I was there. Once I’m not around..."
Matthew chuckled. "I know. They won’t let it go. They didn’t just lose money. They were humiliated. There’s no way they’ll swallow that."
Frank leaned forward, elbows on his knees. "So you’ve got it all under control, huh?"
Matthew nodded. "I do. Now stop focusing on my business and finish the stuff I gave you."
Frank blinked, then let out a short laugh. "Yes, sir."
Matthew shook his head and reached for his phone. "I’ll need another favor tomorrow."
Frank leaned back again. "Fine. I’ll do it—but only if you let me watch the show."
Matthew looked over. "You can watch all you want."
"What’s going on?" May asked as soon as she spotted Catherine frowning in front of her locker. "Look, is this about your mom? The exams just finished. You can focus on taking care of her now."
Catherine didn’t answer right away. She slid her books into her bag and shut the locker door before turning to face May and Elise. She had just finished some extracurriculars after the exams and was about to go home when she received Adam’s call.
Who would have thought that Adam would ask her for the money she borrowed ages ago?
"I have to meet someone later," Catherine said. "It’s about my mom." She lied.
Months ago, she borrowed that money to help her cousin who was working at a casino. Unfortunately, her cousin had fallen deep into gambling. He promised to pay her back in monthly installments. For the first two months, he kept his word. But after that, the payments stopped. Since then, it had been one excuse after another—delays, bounced checks, missed calls. Every time she brought it up, he’d promise to send the money "next week."
Next week never came.
Now, with her mother’s condition getting worse and the charities turning her away, Catherine was out of options. She didn’t want to do this, but she had no choice. She was going to see him face to face and ask for the money directly.
"I thought you already spoke to all the foundations?" May asked.
"I did," Catherine said. "They’re not helping. One said they ran out of budget. Another told me to reapply next quarter. One of them even shifted their program to education. They said chronic illness doesn’t fall under their criteria anymore."
Elise looked frustrated. "But you already qualified before."
"They said priorities have changed," Catherine replied. "There’s one more I haven’t heard back from, but I’m not counting on it."
May narrowed her eyes. "So who are you really going to see later?"
Catherine hesitated for a second before answering. "My cousin."
"The one working for a casino?" May asked. "Isn’t he some wanted criminal or something for child support?"
Catherine only shrugged in response.
Elise glanced at her. "Why don’t you just ask Brother Lenox? He’d help you. You know he would."
"I’ve tried," Catherine said. "But he’s been avoiding me lately."
May let out a sharp breath. "That’s because Matthew must’ve forced him! That selfish bastard. He’s always getting in between you two."
Catherine didn’t respond to that. She didn’t have the energy to explain.
May folded her arms. "Seriously, I don’t get why Lenox even keeps him around. He’s just an outsider. What right does he have to butt in?"
"Have you tried asking for help from any of the charity foundations?" Elise asked.
"I did," Catherine said quietly. "All of them."
May tilted her head. "And?"
"They all turned me down," Catherine said. "One group said they already allocated their annual budget to another hospital. Another told me they couldn’t process new requests until next quarter. There was one that used to help us before, but they said they’ve shifted focus to education programs this year."
Elise frowned. "So they just dropped you like that?"
Catherine nodded. "Pretty much. One even told me that since my mom’s case isn’t considered critical anymore, they need to prioritize terminal cases. Another said they had a backlog from the pandemic they’re still trying to resolve."
May’s jaw tightened. "That’s ridiculous."
"I know," Catherine said. "They all have their reasons, but it doesn’t really help."
"Then what now?" Elise asked. "Who are you seeing later? Do you need us to go with you?"
Catherine hesitated before shaking her head. "Someone who said they might have a solution. But I’m not sure yet."
May leaned in. "Is it someone reliable?"
"I don’t know," Catherine admitted. "But I don’t have a lot of options left."
Obviously, she could only lie to them. She couldn’t really reveal that her cousin had blackmailed her in the past, pressuring her to borrow money in his name. She knew that if she had gone to Lenox or even Matthew, they would’ve helped. But that was the problem. She didn’t want to owe them anything.
Especially not Matthew.
Even back then, he was always watching quietly from the side, never saying much but always there. She didn’t like the way he looked at her like he could see right through her. It made her feel exposed.
As for Lenox, he would’ve said yes without thinking. But she didn’t want his pity. She didn’t want him to help her just because he felt sorry. That was worse.
So she turned to Adam.
She hated it, but at the time, it made sense. Adam came from money. He was connected. He didn’t care about her personal life. All she had to do was explain that it was for a hospital bill. He didn’t ask questions and just let her sign a contract.
And now, he was demanding it back.
Catherine clenched her fists. She never expected her cousin to disappear . He promised to pay. He said it was just temporary, that he needed to get back on his feet, and then he’d return the full amount with interest. She believed him. After all, he was family.
"Cathy?" Elise called.
Catherine blinked and looked up. "Yeah?"
"You sure you don’t want us to come with you?" Elise asked.
Catherine shook her head. "It’s better if I go alone. I’ll message you if anything happens."