Ella couldn’t contain her excitement as she made her way to Mr. Michael and Lewis’s uncompleted house. The day had gone better than she could have hoped for, and she was eager to share the news. The sun was setting as she approached the usual, run-down building. The orange light of the evening shines on the worn way leading to their door. She knocked twice, and the door swung open almost immediately. Lewis stood there, his expression was with a mixture of hope and anxiety. “So, how did it go?” he asked, his voice betraying the nervousness he tried to hide. He didn't even bother to welcome him.Ella bit her lip, trying to keep a straight face. She wanted to tease them a little. “It was a disaster,” she said, shaking her head slowly. “Harvey… he walked me out without a second thought.”Lewis’s face fell, his shoulders slumped in loss. Mr. Michael, who had been sitting in the corner of the small empty living room, looked up from his newspaper, he was clearly weak, and his already-weather

Ella’s first day at the Stephenson Corporation had been a whirlwind, but she had managed to get through it with the confidence and carefulness that had always pushed her. As the days turned into weeks, she found herself settling into her new role with surprising comfort. This was her first time doing a legitimate job, and though it was supposed to be just a means to an end, something unexpected began to happen—Ella started to enjoy the work.Each morning, she would wake up early, dress smartly, and make her way to the office. At first, her routine was foreign to her, but it later became a source of stability that she enjoyed.All the assignments she was assigned by Harvey were challenging, but Ella handled them with diligence that surprised even herself. She had always been resourceful, but she hadn’t realized just how much she could accomplish when she put her mind to something productive.Harvey quickly noticed her dedication. He appreciated the way Ella approached her responsibilit

Mr. Michael had always prided himself on being a man of action, someone who didn’t wait for things to happen but made them happen. Maybe that was what also led him to the condition he was in now. But as the days went by and he struggled to find a way to reach Dante, he felt that usual feeling of control slipping away. He wouldn't lose Dante too, he was his last hope. The man had the connections and the influence needed to pull off the kind of plan he had in mind. As an insider in Stephenson’s cooperation, it would be that golden opportunity they were seeking. But getting to Dante was proving to be more difficult than he had expected. It wasn’t like the old days when Mr. Michael had clout and a network of people who owed him favors. Now, he was just another man down on his luck, scraping by, hoping to catch a break. His first effort was to try and reach Dante directly, but every attempt was met with a dead end. The phone numbers he had for Dante were either disconnected or went straigh

Michael sat on the edge of the worn-out bed in the cramped apartment he now called home. Looking very sad and troubled.The peeling paint on the walls and the flickering bulb overhead only helped to remind him of how far he had fallen. He sighed deeply, running a hand through his disheveled hair. His mind was a tangled mess of all his failed plans and hopelessness. Nothing seemed to work anymore. Everything he had once known, every bit of comfort and security, had been stripped away. Those he had brought out from the gutters to help him make money had all been elevated and had moved on with their lives.The door screeched open, and his wife walked in. Her eyes were red from crying, and she looked as though the weight of the world was pressing down on her shoulders. She was once a woman, full of life and style, but now she was a shadow of her former self. Living in poverty had taken its toll on her. She had missed her only daughter too. Life seemed to lose its meaning in her life.Mich

All the plans, all the methods to at least get food for his family had come to nothing, and even the person he had trusted to come through for him seemed to disappoint him and now he found himself on the brink of hopelessness. Beside him, Lewis was silent and was lost in his own thoughts.They had tried everything, but it seemed like the universe had also conspired against them and didn't want to forgive them. Every door they had tried to open had been slammed shut in their faces. Mr. Michael could feel the weight of his family’s expectations of him pressing down on him, and it was suffocating.The money they had stolen so far from Harvey before had barely made a dent in their growing list of needs.Then suddenly, his phone buzzed suddenly, breaking the heavy silence. “Hello?” Michael’s voice sounded reluctant and weary. He wasn't even in the mood to answer any calls.“Mr. Anderson, it’s Dante,” came the familiar voice on the other end, his tone was hushed as if he was speaking in se