Chapter 6 - The Loan Shark's Visit
While Martin was drowning in legal fees and federal subpoenas, Caleb was facing a far more immediate and dangerous threat—one that didn't care about court orders or legal procedures.
Deprived of his luxury cars, kicked out of his executive apartment due to unpaid corporate leases, and completely cut off from Martin’s frozen bank accounts, Caleb had retreated to a cheap, rundown motel on the outskirts of the city.
At 8:00 p.m. on Saturday night, as a fresh flurry of snow fell outside the motel window, a heavy, terrifying knock echoed against Caleb’s door.
Caleb jumped up from the stained mattress, his heart pounding in his chest. "W-Who is it?" he whimpered, creeping toward the door.
The door was suddenly kicked open with a violent crash, wood splintering as two tall, heavily built men in dark leather jackets stepped inside the small room. Behind them walked a sharp-dressed, gray-haired man named Leo "The Hammer" Vance—the head of the underground gambling ring in St. Louis to whom Caleb owed over six hundred thousand dollars.
Caleb scrambled backward, falling over a plastic chair and cowering against the wall. "Leo! Please! I... I'm working on getting the money! My dad is—"
"Your dad is bankrupt, Caleb," Leo said softly, stepping into the room and dusting snow off his leather gloves. "We read the newspapers. Vance Logistics is under federal investigation, the bank accounts are frozen, and your father is facing twenty years in federal prison."
"My... my sister has the money!" Caleb babbled hysterically, tears streaming down his face. "Emily! She took control of my mother’s multi-million dollar trust! She’s the one who froze everything! Go to her! She can pay you!"
Leo looked down at Caleb with pure, unadulterated contempt. He pulled a heavy manila envelope from inside his coat and tossed it onto the bed.
Caleb looked at the envelope nervously. "What... what is this?"
"That is a formal notice from your sister’s legal team," Leo explained, his voice flat and terrifying. "She called my associates yesterday afternoon. She provided us with a complete, unredacted record of every illegal wire transfer your father made to our tables, along with a warning that if we attempt to contact her or her mother, the FBI will immediately execute RICO search warrants on every single one of our gaming houses in three states."
Caleb gasped, his face turning ghostly white. "She... she threatened you?"
"She didn't threat us, Caleb," Leo said, leaning down until his dark eyes were inches from Caleb’s terrified face. "She offered us a deal. She agreed not to hand over the gambling ledgers to the federal prosecutors on one condition."
"What condition?!" Caleb sobbed.
"That we collect every single penny of your debt directly from you, personal asset by personal asset, without bothering her or her mother ever again," Leo whispered smoothly.
Leo gestured to his two men.
"Take his watch, his ring, his phone, and his designer clothes," Leo ordered calmly. "Then put him in the car. He's going to work off his six hundred thousand dollar debt working eighteen-hour shifts in our industrial laundry facility in East St. Louis until every penny is paid back."
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"No! Please! Emily! Save me!" Caleb screamed hysterically as the two large men grabbed him by his arms, dragging him out of the motel room into the freezing snow.
His screams were completely swallowed by the howling winter wind.
