CHAPTER 44: TEN THOUSAND GONE

Daisy spun around as her heart was pounding, and made a move to dart back into the house but Jasmine was faster.

"Help me this once. I know you have the money," her mother muttered under her breath, and then clicked the door shut in Daisy’s face.

Locked.

"Mom!" Daisy banged on the door, disbelief and fury rising in her chest. "Open the door! Jasmine!"

Silence.

"We won’t take much of your time," one of the men said from behind her, calm and annoyingly polite. "It’s just... your mom said you’d be covering for her loan."

Daisy slowly turned to face them.

She didn’t speak. She just stared.

The man stepped closer, his boots crunching lightly on the gravel. "You know..." he said, voice casual, almost friendly, "she didn’t take out that much. I’m sure you can pay it back."

He smiled. Of course not a kind one.

"Did she also promise you cookies and tea?" Daisy asked, dryly. "Because if you believed that, I’ve got a mansion in the sky to sell you."

The smirk faltered, just slightly.

Another one behind him let out a low chuckle. "Feisty."

"Feisty doesn’t pay off debt," the first man said, a smile slipping back into place. "Money does."

Daisy crossed her arms. "Then maybe you should try ringing the doorbell again. I hear the woman inside is the actual borrower."

"You’re her daughter. That makes you responsible too, doesn’t it?"

She let out a sharp, bitter laugh. "Oh, so now legal responsibility matters?" Her eyes narrowed. "How convenient."

The man’s smirk faltered, just slightly, his patience thinning. He took a step closer, the smile turning sharp. "You’ve got a mouth on you, huh?"

Daisy didn’t flinch. "And you’ve got the wrong address."

That was enough.

The slap came fast, brutal and totally unexpected. The sound cracked through the quiet street, and Daisy’s head snapped to the side. Her cheek exploded with heat and pain, the sting immediate. Blood welled along the corner of her lip.

Before she could steady herself, fingers like steel clamped around her neck, shoving her roughly against the wall.

"You think this is funny?" the man growled, his voice low, dark. "Your mother promised money today. We don’t care whose pocket it comes from. You are her daughter... That makes it yours."

She clawed at his wrist, struggling for air. Her feet barely found balance. Her heart thundered in her ears but not just from fear, but also from rage.

Still, Daisy knew when to pick her battles. And this wasn’t one of them.

The taxi rattled over a bump, pulling Daisy back into the present.

Daisy sat in the backseat, pressed into the corner, her knees drawn close. One hand clutched the edge of her blazer tightly, the other trembling in her lap as she rubbed it to her jeans.

She stared out the window, blinking fast, as if the city scenery could blur out what just happened.

Her cheek throbbed. Her lip tasted of blood.

But it wasn’t the pain that made her chest hurt.

It was humiliation, helplessness and betrayal.

She exhaled shakily, forcing her shoulders down, grounding herself with each breath. Ten thousand. Gone. Just like that. She didn’t have a choice. What else could she have done? Be stubborn and end up in a ditch somewhere? No. She still had too much to settle. And her father—he still needed her.

"Are you okay, miss?" the taxi uncle asked, glancing at her through the rearview mirror, concern etched across his brow.

Daisy lifted her head briefly, just enough for him to see her swollen lip. She offered a faint sound in response, "Hmm. I’m okay."

"If you want me to take you to a hospital or the police station, I can still make a U-turn," the uncle said gently, his voice lined with worry.

"No." She shook her head quickly and hard. "Just drive straight to Kingsley’s building."

Then, the rest of the ride was cloaked in silence.

When the taxi finally rolled to a stop in front of the Kingsley’s building, the driver peeked through the rearview mirror once more, hesitating, "We’re here, miss."

Daisy nodded. Her voice didn’t come out. She simply reached into her bag, pulled out the fare, and handed it over with trembling hands.

He took it without a word.

"Take care, okay?" he said softly, looking at her like he was looking at his own daughter.

She gave him the smallest smile she could manage.

The towering glass lobby loomed ahead, pristine and grand.

She squared her shoulders. One hand brushed down her pink blazer, as if she could straighten the bruise under it too. Then, without looking back, Daisy walked through the doors.

The lobby once again filled with people. It was like the other day when Theo was coming out with his staff. Expecting him, she craned her neck to check the person inside the crowd, and when she found who he was, their eyes locked.

"Barbie-in-law!" Liam rushed immediately to her.

"Hey." She smiled with her eyes instead, one hand adjusting the scarf she’d wrapped around her neck earlier in the taxi. "What are you doing here?"

"What are you doing here?" Liam asked back.

"Ah," she said, casually rubbing the corner of her lip where the bruise was, still covering it, "I’m looking for Theo. He left his phone."

"Really?" Liam’s tone remained cheerful, but his eyes scanned her face carefully. "Are you okay?"

"Of course, haha..." She turned her head awkwardly. "I’ll go up first," she added, trying to walk away.

"You can’t go up to his floor, even if you’re his fiancée..." Liam muttered, sounding casual.

The word fiancée instantly stirred a buzz around the lobby. Daisy’s frown deepened as the crowd’s attention zeroed in on her.

"Is that so?" she replied. "Then I’ll call my friend to ask for her help." She pulled out her phone from her bag.

Liam leaned closer to peek at her face. "Is your friend pretty? Like you?"

Daisy raised her brows. "Sorry?"