Chaos Girl Rewrites the Script novel Chapter 548

*

Past the end of the alleyway lay a rundown slum. The streetlights were sparse, and the incessant clatter of poker chips mixed with aggressive, curse-filled conversations drifted out of a dingy underground card room.

Isolde hurried through the narrow, twisting alleyways. She retrieved a spare key from under a rusted window grate and unlocked the door to her apartment.

"Hey, wasn't that your kid who just walked by? Looked like she got roughed up by somebody."

Rowena glanced over her shoulder. Seeing the dim light turn on in her apartment, she immediately pushed back her chair. "I'm cashing out."

"Whoa, whoa! What's this? You win a few hands and you're bailing? When you're down on your luck, you wouldn't leave this table even if that kid of yours was lying at home with a fever for three days straight!"

Rowena waved a hand dismissively. "Next time, next time." With that, she hurried out of the parlor.

It wasn't out of any maternal concern for Isolde. She knew perfectly well that Old Man Lerner had been staking out the alleyway. She had deliberately turned a blind eye, figuring that since the girl's life was effectively over anyway, she might as well squeeze another payday out of Lerner taking her virginity.

The living conditions in the slums were abysmal. Because of her gambling addiction, Rowena had zero savings. She rented a cramped single-room apartment, and Isolde's bedroom was nothing more than a converted coal closet.

Rowena slipped quietly into the apartment. The bathroom light was on, and the sound of running water echoed intermittently.

Taking a shower the second she got home?

Rowena banged on the bathroom door forcefully. "Didn't I tell you to take your showers at school? Do you think the water bill pays itself?!"

The water shut off immediately. Isolde's voice drifted through the door, hoarse and trembling. "I'll be right out."

"No, you get out here right now! Who told you to waste electricity by keeping the lights on while you shower?!"

She pressed her ear against the door and heard nothing. Her tone grew even nastier. "Did you hear me? I said get out here!"

The moment she finished yelling, the bathroom door cracked open. Isolde stood there shivering in a thin jacket, her wet hair dripping onto her shoulders.

Rowena stared hard at Isolde. "What happened to your face? Did you get into a fight at school?"

Isolde flinched, keeping her head down as she tried to squeeze past, but Rowena grabbed her arm.

"Stop right there. Speak! Were you out doing something shameful?"

Isolde suddenly broke down. "I didn't! When I was walking home, some psycho ambushed me. He tried to assault me."

It was definitely Old Man Lerner. Rowena felt a surge of secret delight, her voice rising dramatically. "And you let him get away with it?"

"No..." Isolde shook her head vehemently. "A group of guys showed up out of nowhere and beat him to a pulp. They said I was meant for Mr. Zeke, and that the psycho had a death wish."

Mr. Zeke?

Zeke?

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify