All Chapters of The Debt He Can't Collect: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

I stare at the photo of my father until my vision blurs.Someone is watching him. Right now. While I stand in this hallway deciding whether to lie to a billionaire for money.This isn't a coincidence.I delete the message. The photo disappears but my hands keep shaking.Think, Emma. Think like a doctor. Assess the situation. Diagnose the problem. Treat accordingly.Problem: Someone wants me to say yes to Marcus's offer.Question: Why?My phone rings. I nearly drop it.Lily.I answer. "Hey.""Em, I'm sorry about the tuition thing. I shouldn't have texted you at work. I know you're doing everything you can." Her voice is small. Young. She's twenty-one but sounds sixteen when she's scared."Don't apologize." I close my eyes. "I'll figure it out. I always do.""You shouldn't have to." She pauses. "Maybe I should take a semester off. Work. Save up.""Absolutely not. You're going to finish. You're going to be brilliant. This is just a temporary problem."Temporary. Right. Like the past five

The elevator to Damien's penthouse requires a key card and fingerprint scan.I use the card Marcus gave me. The scanner blinks red.The doorman steps forward. "First time, Dr. Lawson? The system needs to register you. Just place your thumb here."I hesitate. Once I do this, I'm in the system. Recorded. Official.No turning back.I press my thumb to the scanner. It beeps. Glows green."All set. Welcome home."Home. Right.The elevator doors close. I'm alone in a glass box rising into the sky.My reflection stares back at me. Designer dress. Professional hair. Expensive shoes.I look like someone else.Maybe that's the point.The elevator opens directly into the penthouse. No hallway. No neighbors. Just straight into his world.I step out.And stop breathing.Floor-to-ceiling windows show the entire city. Morning light floods the space. Everything is clean lines and expensive simplicity. White walls. Dark wood. Art that probably costs more than my medical degree.This isn't just wealth.

I run down the hospital corridor.My heels click against linoleum. Too loud. Too slow.I kick them off. Keep running barefoot.Lily's building. Twenty minutes until her class.I pull out my phone. Dial her number.Straight to voicemail.No. No no no.I try again. Same result."Lily, if you get this, don't go to class. Stay in your dorm. Lock the door. I'm calling campus security right now. Please. Just stay where you are."I hang up. Dial campus security."Campus Security, how can I help you?""My sister is in danger. Lily Lawson. She's in danger. Someone is threatening her. You need to get to her dorm room. Now.""Ma'am, slow down. What kind of threat?""A man said her classroom building has fire safety violations. That something might happen during her next class. She's in danger. Please.""What's your sister's name again?""Lily Lawson. She lives in Sterling Hall. Room 314.""And you are?""Dr. Emma Lawson. I'm her sister. Her emergency contact. Please. You need to get to her.""We

I stare at Victoria. "My mother?""Yes. Get in the car. We don't have much time.""My mother doesn't know anything about Project Angel. She left years ago. Moved away. We barely speak.""That's what she wanted you to believe." Victoria glances down the street. Nervous. "But she's been involved this whole time. She knows where your father hid the formula. And Richard knows she knows. He's moving on her right now."Damien steps forward. "Victoria, if this is a trap—""It's not. I swear. I have no reason to help Richard. He destroyed my father's company ten years ago. Just like he destroyed Emma's." She looks at me. "We're on the same side. Whether you believe it or not."I should walk away. Trust no one. Especially not Damien's ex-fiancée who appeared out of nowhere.But if my mother really knows something..."Where is she?""An hour north. Small town. She's been hiding there for three years." Victoria opens the car door wider. "Please. I'm trying to save her life. And yours."Damien lo

The world tilts.My father. Alive. Standing beside Richard Chen like colleagues. Like the last three years of grief were performance art."You're dead." The words scrape out. Hollow. "I went to your funeral. I watched them lower your casket.""Empty." My father still won't look at me. His hands shake. He shoves them in his pockets. "Richard arranged everything. Made it look real. Gave me a choice. Disappear and help him perfect Project Angel, or watch him kill you and your sister. Both of you. I chose the option where you lived."My throat closes. I force words through anyway. "By betraying us?""By protecting you." His voice cracks. Still won't meet my eyes. "Emma, you don't understand. Richard has resources. Connections. He could've made you both disappear years ago. The only reason you're still alive is because I agreed to work with him."Bile rises in my throat. Three years. Three jobs. Fourteen-hour shifts. Eating ramen in hospital break rooms while he was alive somewhere. Safe.