Left for Dead Came Back for Everything novel Chapter 110

Gwen screamed curses for a solid minute until her voice gave out.

"Don't move. Where are you right now? At the studio? Stay right there, I'm calling my uncle's law firm to send someone over right now!"

"A forged signature on a guarantee is legally void! A simple handwriting analysis will blow this whole thing wide open!"

"Thank you, Gwen," Eliza's voice was barely a whisper. "How long does the legal process take?"

Gwen paused, likely typing furiously on her keyboard.

"...At least two weeks. Factoring in the handwriting analysis, notarization, and filing the dispute. If they drag it out, it could take longer."

"Two weeks."

Eliza squeezed her eyes shut.

Those men had given her three days.

"They aren't going to wait two weeks."

"Then I'll pay the money first!" Gwen snarled through the phone. "I'll cover the debt to keep them off your back, and let the lawyers handle the rest! Once the contract is voided, we'll get the money back!"

"No."

Eliza's tone instantly hardened.

"Gwen, no."

"You've already done too much for me. I can't rely on you to bail me out every time my family ruins my life. If I do that, I'm no better than my brother!"

"Just help me secure the lawyer. I'll figure out the rest on my own."

"How are you going to figure it out?" Gwen's voice cracked with panic.

"How much is even left in your accounts? Tell me, can you actually pull together four hundred and seventy thousand dollars?"

Eliza fell into a long, heavy silence.

"...I'll figure something out."

"What exactly are you going to figure out?"

"I said, I'll figure something out."

Eliza's voice was terrifyingly calm, like a stagnant pool of dead water.

"Get the legal process started as fast as you can. I can survive the next two weeks."

"You—"

"Gwen." Eliza cut her off. "I know you just want to protect me, but I refuse to be a parasite. My family bleeds me dry, and I will not turn around and bleed you. I refuse to become someone like my brother."

The line fell silent for a very long time.

Finally, the sound of Gwen aggressively sniffing echoed through the phone.

'Eliza, I heard about the situation with Miles. I pulled a lot of strings, finally tracked him down, and gave him a call.'

'He promised me he's done gambling forever. He said he just needed a little bit of cash to handle a minor emergency.'

'I transferred him ten thousand dollars to help him out for now. Once he gets back on his feet, everything will be fine. Don't you think—'

Eliza stared at the text message, her expression morphing into pure, unadulterated disbelief.

She honestly thought she was hallucinating!

Very slowly, she reread the message, word by agonizing word.

Then, she slammed her phone face down on the desk, stormed out into the hallway, and dialed Gwen's number.

"Gwen, that brain-dead idiot Zander just wired Miles ten thousand dollars for an 'emergency.'"

"...What?"

"He said he gave Miles ten thousand dollars!"

"And he claimed Miles promised him he'd never gamble again, and that it was just a temporary cash flow problem!"

The line went dead for three solid seconds.

And then—

"Am I having a fucking auditory hallucination right now?"