I went to the bank immediately and what happened next, shocked me.
There was only $20,000 dollars left in my account.
Not even half of the money was there.
This didn't make sense.
Ramona had sent me $80, 000 dollars, after taking her cut, so how was this possible.
How was it that I only had $20,000 left. This was not enough to pay the hospital bills. Not by far.
I didn't know what was happening. Did someone steal my money? Was I missing something?
I went over to the counter and spoke to the cashier.
"Hello." I greeted the cashier.
"Uhmmm…" I stammered. I was too confused to even know where to start.
He looked at me and raised an eyebrow.
He probably thought I was a crazy woman. I could see the judgment in his eyes. My heart was racing.
I didn't know what the problem was.
Where was my money? What was going on?
Why was there only 20,000 dollars?
"I…I checked my account and there seems to be a mistake." I stammered.
The man was clearly irritated, but he didn't say anything.
He typed something on his computer.
I waited for him to explain to me what was going on.
He took a deep breath and looked at me.
"There's nothing wrong with the account, Miss Zoey." He said.
I frowned.
That didn't make sense. My account should have had eighty thousand dollars in it, but there was only twenty thousand.
Something was wrong.
The cashier was a skinny white man. He had blonde hair, blue eyes, and a big nose.
He looked like a rat.
He was probably in his early thirties.
He wasn't a handsome man, but he had an air of superiority around him.
He clearly thought that he was better than me.
His name tag read, "Mr. Johnson."
I wanted to punch him in his face.
He was being very condescending.
What did he mean by, there was nothing wrong with my account?
"But my employer sent me money this morning. There should be 80,000 dollars, and not just 20,000 dollars. That makes no sense. Please, could you check again. I really need the money, it is urgent. It's an emergency. Could you please check again? Please." I begged.
Mr Johnson rolled his eyes and leaned forward.
"Miss Zoey. Have you forgotten that your parents took out a loan from the bank. Then, your mother got into the coma and your father ran away. Leaving you to pay the debt." He began to explain.
He sounded like he was reading from a textbook and my stomach dropped.
I knew all this, but what did it have to do with anything?
Why was he telling me this now? What was going on?
This couldn't be happening. I needed the money.
"You haven't made any payments towards your debt, even though we constantly sent you reminders, Miss Zoey. So, we had no choice but to take the money that was sent to the account. Do you understand, Miss Zoey? Or should I write it down for you." Mr Johnson concluded.
He looked at me with a smug grin on his face.
I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
The money was gone. And I was left with less than enough to pay the hospital bills.
My knees buckled and I grabbed on to the counter.
Tears sprang to my eyes.
This wasn't happening. How could they do this to me.
They were a bank for goodness sake.
How could they be so heartless?
I couldn't stop myself. I started to cry.
"Oh God. Please. No. No. This can't be happening." I cried. "Please."
Mr Johnson didn't seem bothered.
"I am sorry, but that's the rule. I can't do anything. Now if you would please excuse me, I have other people to attend to." He said.
The man wasn't even pretending to be sorry.
I looked around me and I could feel all the other people in the bank looking at me.
I walked out of the bank feeling dizzy.
This was not happening.
******************************************
With just $20,000 left in my account, I went to the hospital to pay off my mother's hospital bills.
The doctor was not impressed when I gave him only a fraction of what was due.
He told me that he would extend the deadline a bit, and if I didn't have the rest of the money by then, my mother would have to leave the hospital.
I was devastated on my way home. I had planned it all out.
But I guess life had other plans.
I got back home later that evening and began to prepare for work. I guess, I wasn't done with working as a stripper, just yet.
My plan was work my ass off and get a lot of money to pay the hospital debts little by little. At least, my mum was still in the hospital and alive.
But I was also terrified, because the bills were piling up, and if the doctor threw her out, it was over.
So, I was going to do whatever it took.
*****************************************
"Zoey. Why are you here? I thought you were going to quit." Marge asked, in surprise when she saw me.
I was sitting at the bar and drinking a glass of water. I didn't even have enough money to buy a drink.
I had a long day, and I was exhausted.
My head hurt and I felt like crying.
But I couldn't give up. I had to keep pushing.
The more money I made, the faster I could get the debt paid. Then, my mum, siblings and I would be free. That was all that mattered.
"The money wasn't enough." I sighed.
"What? How? That's impossible. How much did Ramona send you. Was her cut too much?" Marge blurted out all these questions at the same time.
Her face was full of concern. She was trying to figure it out.
I shook my head. I couldn't even explain it.
All I knew was, my plan didn't work and now, I had no choice but to continue doing what I was doing.
It was the only thing that made sense.
"My parents owed the bank so they took part of the money to settle their debt. The remaining was used to pay some of the hospital debt." I forced a smile. Deep down, I was scared.
My mother's life depended on whether or not I could earn enough money to keep her in the hospital.
I knew it was going to take a while, but I was determined.
Nothing was going to stop me. Nothing was going to distract me either.
"I'm so sorry, Zoey. I guess you just have to give it your all tonight." She patted me on the shoulder.
I nodded and took a sip of my water.
The club had opened and the girls were already working.
The music was so loud and people were dancing.
The club was packed and the smell of cigarettes was strong.
But the smell of money was stronger.
I was ready to make money. I was about to stand to my feet when I heard Marge cuss.
"Holy Sh!t. That man is f*cking hot." Marge mumbled.
"What is it?" I asked.
Marge didn't reply, instead she pointed the entrance of the club and I turned to look.
My heart skipped a beat.
Master had just walked in and he caught the eye of everyone in the club.
He was walking towards the VIP lounge.
It seemed like the whole club had stopped what they were doing and were watching him. The girls were ogling and drooling over him.
Master didn't care about the attention. He was walking with so much confidence and authority. His presence commanded attention and the whole club was in awe.
He was wearing a custom-made shiny black suit, with a white shirt and a black tie.
He looked so f*cking handsome.
His eyes were brighter than ever. His hair was perfectly styled and he was clean shaven which only made him look younger and sexier.
His face was serious, but it looked like he had just taken a shower.
He was glowing.
When I saw him, my heart started beating so fast, and my stomach clenched.
He was a vision.
"Oh. My. God." My jaw dropped as he walked closer.
I couldn't believe my eyes.
Master was here.