"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.
The last ember of hope inside me flickered out.
"Fine." My voice sounded foreign—terrifyingly calm. "If this is what you want, consider the debt settled."
I was speaking to the loan sharks, but my uncle's head snapped up. For a split second, panic cracked his mask.
It didn't last. The memory of his promise to Stella hardened his resolve.
This is the last time, he told himself. The final lesson.
Once Savannah endured this humiliation, he would take her home. He would spend the rest of his life making it up to her. He had a lifetime to fix this.
So he looked away. Feigning struggle against his captors, he manipulated the miniature camera hidden in his cuff. Captured me on my knees before those men.
Sent.
The crowd scattered.
I stayed on the ground, limbs heavy as lead, until sheer will dragged me upright.
My uncle crawled toward me, eyes rimmed red. He opened his mouth—probably to offer some excuse—but my hollow gaze strangled the words in his throat.
The next day, the doctor arrived to escort him to the capital for his "miracle cure."