Again...(Hazel)

My thoughts were a tangled mess as I stood by the window, staring blankly at the cityscape. The bills piled up like a mountain I couldn't climb. Violet's hospital stay, the psychiatric center for my brother, and the regular expenses loomed over me. My phone lay useless on the counter, the screen cracked and the battery dead. Even if I had the money to replace it, there were more pressing needs. I had no idea how I was going to manage it all, especially with my pitiful salary. The whispers about my past with Markos and the rumors about our present made work unbearable, but I couldn't leave. I needed every penny.

The side gig Julia had suggested had seemed like a lifeline at first. Escorting men to high-profile events was easy money, or so I thought. But it had turned out to be a dangerous game. The night with that client who took me to a secluded place instead of home was a wake-up call. He had been charming at first, all smooth smiles and expensive cologne. But as the night wore on, h