Chapter 7 - The Shadow on Montgomery Street
Love, however, did not magically erase the cold reality of financial predators.
On Monday morning, while Delaney was at the café prepping the breakfast rush, two men in sharp grey suits walked into the small apartment building on Montgomery Street.
Amara was sitting at the kitchen table, studying for her chemistry exam, when a heavy, aggressive knock rattled the wooden front door.
When Amara opened it, the taller man—a harsh-faced individual carrying a thick leather folder—didn't offer a greeting. He stepped straight into the doorway, blocking her from closing it.
"Amara Prince?" the man asked coldly.
"Yes?" Amara asked, her voice instantly tight with fear. "Who are you?"
"My name is Vance Miller, representing Apex Financial Collections," the man stated, pulling a stack of legal documents from his folder. "We have acquired the outstanding medical debt from Memorial Health Systems regarding the account of the late Sarah Prince. The current balance, including accrued interest and legal fees, stands at forty-two thousand, eight hundred dollars."
Amara paled. "My... my sister has a payment plan with the hospital! She pays two hundred dollars every month!"
"The hospital sold the delinquent debt to Apex three weeks ago, Miss Prince," Miller said, his voice completely devoid of human empathy. "The payment plan is void. We are demanding immediate settlement of the balance, or we will file an emergency lien against this property and initiate wage garnishment proceedings against Delaney Prince’s employer by five o'clock tomorrow afternoon."
Amara gripped the edge of the door, her knees trembling so badly she thought she might faint. "You... you can't garnish her wages! She works at a small café! If her boss gets a court summons, she might lose her job!"
"Then I suggest you tell your sister to find the money by tomorrow," Miller said smoothly, handing her a formal summons notice stamped with a red court seal. "Have a good day, Miss Prince."
The men turned and walked down the creaky wooden stairs, leaving Amara standing in the open doorway, clutching the terrifying court document against her chest.
When Delaney returned home at two o'clock, she found Amara sitting on the sofa in the dark, crying hysterically, the legal papers crumpled on the floor at her feet.
"Amara!" Delaney gasped, dropping her purse and running to her sister’s side, wrapping her arms around her shaking shoulders. "What happened? What’s wrong?"
"D... they came here," Amara sobbed, pointing at the papers. "The collection company... they bought Mom's hospital debt. They're going to garnish your wages tomorrow! They said you could lose your job!"
Delaney picked up the papers, her eyes scanning the cold, predatory language on the legal letterhead.
Apex Financial Collections.
And down at the bottom of the disclosure page, listed under the board of institutional investors who funded Apex Financial, was a name that made Delaney’s blood run dead cold:
Sterling Capital Holdings.
Victoria Sterling hadn't just insulted Delaney at the gala. She had used her family's massive financial apparatus to buy up Delaney’s debt, accelerating the legal timeline to crush Delaney before Beckett could intervene.
It was a cold, calculated strike designed to force Delaney into a position of absolute humiliation—forcing her to either beg Beckett for a massive financial handout or flee the city to escape total financial ruin.
Delaney folded the paper neatly, her hands surprisingly steady. The panic that had plagued her for years was suddenly replaced by a quiet, burning rage.
"D?" Amara asked, wiping her eyes, looking up at her sister's terrified face. "What are we going to do? We don't have forty-two thousand dollars."
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Delaney stood up, her jaw set into a hard, unbreakable line.
"We aren't going to run, Amara," Delaney said quietly, picking up her coat from the chair. "And we aren't going to beg. We're going to show Victoria Sterling what happens when you try to mess with the Prince family."
