Divorce to Destiny: Reclaiming My CEO Husband

413 Desperate Dealings

413 Desperate Dealings

(Cass)

The alley stinks of rotting garbage, stale beer, and desperation. My heart races as I wait, shifting from foot to foot, clutching the small bag of pills in my hand.

It's quiet in an eerie way, the kind of quiet that prickles at your nerves and makes you second-guess every decision that led you here.

This used to be my life a long time ago. I swore I'd never be back here again. I promised Mom. I argued with Winona that I could take care of myself. Now here I am.

I glance at my phone. The screen is cracked, just like everything else in my life, but it flashes the time anyway. It's been twenty minutes, and every second feels like a razor blade on my nerves. Someone is supposed to be meeting me here.

I never thought I'd be selling drugs to save my own ass. But unloading this stash will get me out of the debt I owe these dealers. Enough to keep them from rearranging my face or worse. Then I'm never, ever doing this again.

I'll get clean. I might even have some money left to start over. Just this one last deal and I can stop.

The laughter and music from the club down the street drift over, taunting me. This place used to feel thrilling when Mia dragged me out on our wild nights, both of us dressed to kill, high on life or maybe just high.

I thought she was a friend, thought she genuinely liked me, but now I see she was only using me. There's a lot more to Mia than anyone knows. I feel it now. But it's too late. I have to find a way out of this mess.

Gabriel's face flashes in my mind, and a sharp pang of loss follows. He seemed different, seemed like he actually cared, but now he's vanished too. Wrapped up in his own business ventures and leaving.

Clearly he saw what a train wreck I am underneath all the false confidence.

"Cass." A voice cuts through the darkness, and I jump and snap my head up.

A wiry man steps forward, his face shadowed under the flickering alley light. He's not someone I recognize, but his presence makes my skin crawl. He's dangerous-slicked-back hair, hard eyes, and a scar slicing across his jaw. "You got it?" he asks, his voice low and gravelly.

I nod, my mouth dry. "Yeah." I extend the bag, trying to keep my hands from shaking. I've done this before, but it never gets easier. Especially not when everything is on the line.

He takes the bag, eyes squinting as he inspects the pills. A beat passes, then he looks up, suspicion carved into his expression. "This isn't all of them."

Panic lances through me. I 'borrowed' a couple. Surely that wouldn't matter. "It's-it's what Mia gave me," I stammer, my voice cracking. "She said it'd cover what I owe."

He steps closer, and I back into the wall. "You think you can shortchange us, bitch?"

"I'm not " The words die in my throat as he pulls out a gun, and my entire body goes cold. Oh, God. This

413 Desperate De

is bad. This is really, really bad.

"Then where is the missing gear? Trying to take a cut for yourself just gets you out to one fucking sede

from us."

He shoves the pistol barrel hard into my cheek

I tremble and try to shake my head.

Another voice rings out, sharp and commanding. "Hey, what the hell's going on here?

"None of your business." The thug turns the gun on the man. "Time to die."

"No, don't-" I start, but it's too late.

The gun goes off, the crack echoing in the alley. The other man crumples onto the pavement beneath tim, and a scream lodges in my throat.

The world tilts, and suddenly I'm running, I hear another gunshot, and I wait for the bullet. It doesn't come and I round the corner, frantically searching for somewhere to disappear.

I sprint through the maze of alleys that leads to the fire escape of my apartment. My heat is go

hard it hurts, but I don't stop. I can't stop.

I round a corner, adrenaline surging, and barrel into a stack of crates. I go down hard, the impact rattling my teeth. Shit!

"Get up," I whisper to myself, scrambling to my feet. My hands are scraped and bleeding, but there's no time to care. I need to get away, far away from the gunshot, from the danger, from everything that's gone horribly wrong. But I can't stay in these back alleys. I straighten myself and head for the street.

Finally, I blend into the crowd. My pulse is a wild drumbeat, and I duck into a convenience store, collapsing against the wall by the entrance. My breath comes in ragged gasps, and tears blur my vision.

I peek out of the doorway. I can't see anyone following. Maybe I lost him but there will be more. They will come for me.

I'm so screwed. Completely, utterly screwed. Selling drugs was meant to be a quick fix, a way to crawl out of this hell, but now I'm in deeper than ever.

Mia's lies, Gabriel's abandonment, the choices that have shattered everything good in my life-how did it all spiral so fast?