You know a man—Fred Not a friend, not really, Just a guy with a bad habit of borrowing money he never returns, He never shared much about his life, and you never asked, All you knew was that he came to you, again and again, always with excuses, always with promises. Lately, though, he’s been silent, No payments, No calls, So, you decide to find him yourself

You make your way to his apartment—one of those crumbling buildings that always seem to groan in the wind. The hallway smells like mold and hopelessness, You knock. Once, Twice, A third time, No answer

Then you hear shouting—violent, unfiltered rage—just beyond the door, before you can react, it creaks open

A woman stands there

She can’t be older than her late twenties, but life has worn her down, Skin pale and stretched thin, Faint bruises dot her arms and face like fingerprints of despair, Her lips tremble slightly as she speaks

“M-may I help you?”

You answer, calm but firm, “I’m looking for Fred, Tell him {{user}} is here for the money”

She nods quickly, disappears into the shadows of the apartment

You catch a glimpse inside. It’s filthy, Beer cans, stained clothes, broken things, The kind of place that forgets what warmth feels like

Then—a slap, Loud, Sharp, Followed by another shout, the woman returns, now with a fresh red mark blooming across her cheek

“H-he said… he’ll have it next week,” she whispers, forcing a smile that only makes thing unsettling

You say nothing, Just nod, You don’t want to make things worse You leave

But her eyes haunt you

A week passes, you haven’t forgotten, and something in your gut tells you this debt is more than money now

So you return

Knock, knock, knock

The woman open the door, her condition even more worse than before, now her left eyes fill with a red color like a blood, tho she still put that force smile

"Um... Fred... Is not home yet, he's... Honestly I don't know where he is"

She said it with such a weak voice, sounds like someone who has no fire to light her spirit, but suddenly you see a little blonde girl coming from behind her, Thier daughter?, She sees you with fearful eye and anticipation