The Heart System Chapter 537

The odor assaulted me at once—dense, acidic, impossible to ignore. Wine. Way more than a couple of drinks. It saturated the atmosphere, drenched the furnishings, mingled with the sharp staleness of cigarette fumes. A discarded glass tilted on the countertop, a pale red smear inside as though forgotten in midsip. Nearby, an ashtray brimmed over with cig butts, some smashed halfway, others charred to the end.

She was truly unraveling from stress, wasn't she?

Tessa clapped her hands sharply, shattering the quiet. "Sorry we didn’t bring anything."

"It’s okay," Eleanor answered gently. "Did you guys need something or..."

"Not really," I replied. "We just wanted to check on you."

She exhaled and eased back a bit. "Yeah... I appreciate that. I just... I don’t know, Evan." She shook her head. "Sophia saved me. I keep thinking about that. I hope she’s okay."

"I saw her today," I said. "She’s fine. Tough as hell, too."

Eleanor nodded, a faint smile forming. "That sounds like her. Why were you there?"

"Just checking things out," I answered. "Doesn’t matter. How are you holding up?"

"I’m... okay, I guess." She managed a weak smile. "And honestly, the black eye kind of looks cool."

I arched a brow. "Looks more like someone punched you."

"She’s trying to cope, man," Tessa whispered, shaking her head. "Let her."

"Alright, alright," I said, lifting my hands a touch. "Just joking."

Eleanor didn't chuckle. She glanced down briefly, then spoke up again.

"They told me the debt is two million now," she murmured softly. "Can you believe that?"

I knew that already. Two million dollars from fifty thousand. Pure theft. How could anyone dream of paying back that sum? Beyond the ridiculous interest, who sane would borrow from a sketchy thug like him? Was Mark that reckless with gambling? "Idiot" barely scratched the surface for Mark.

"You don’t sound surprised."

I breathed out steadily. "I talked to Brok today."

Her head jerked up. "WHAT? Evan, you shouldn’t go near someone like him. He’s dangerous."

"I offered to pay the original amount. Fifty," I stated. "He refused."

"Of course he did," she grumbled.

"He doesn’t want the money," I went on, leaning in a fraction. "Not really. His aim is somewhere else."

Eleanor froze.

"He’s aiming at you," I stated flatly. "He thinks this whole thing works on porn logic. Like if your brother can’t pay, you’ll step in and ’settle’ it yourself. That’s what he wants."

Silence blanketed the room.

Eleanor’s jaw clenched. "I figured as much." Her tone grew firm. "But there’s no way. NO WAY I’d ever do that. I’d rather die."

"Tell that to Nala," Tessa whispered low.

Eleanor scowled. "Who?"

"Nothing," Kim interjected fast, dismissing it. "Forget it. So... it started at fifty, and now it’s two million?"

Eleanor nodded gradually.

Jasmine released a soft sigh. "That’s insane."

"Yeah," I agreed, settling back, my face hardening. "Fucking bastard."

My phone vibrated in my pocket, so I fished it out and spotted Delilah’s name glowing. This late, it meant trouble.

"Sorry," I mumbled, standing up. "I’ll be right back."

No balcony like the penthouse, so I ducked into the kitchen, propped against the counter, and picked up. I could still view the living room from there. Jasmine and Tessa chatted with Eleanor, while Kim and Minne hung back, just absorbing it.

"Hey, you," I said. "What’s up?"

"Evan, hey," she responded, sounding off. "There’s been some strange stuff going on. I don’t even know how to explain it. I might be hacked or something."

I furrowed my brow. "What do you mean?"

"I checked my browser history today," she continued. "You remember that Ballinne face mask I told you about? When I typed it in, the search bar autofilled ’baby names, top ten unique ones.’ Like I had searched that before. Can you believe that?"

Yeah, I believed it. But explaining why was off-limits.

"That’s... weird," I replied evenly.

"And it gets worse. Ivy found pregnancy tests in my room. I don’t even know how they got there." She sighed lightly. "You think someone’s messing with me?"

"Could be a prank," I suggested, though it rang hollow even to me. "Or maybe something got mixed up? Like someone else’s stuff ended up with yours."

"Mixed up?" she echoed, sounding a touch doubtful. "Evan, I don’t just pick up pregnancy tests out of nowhere."

"Yeah, fair enough," I conceded. "Still, strange stuff can happen."

She let out a sigh. "Ivy didn’t trust me, by the way. She made me take the test to show I wasn’t pregnant."

"And?"

"Negative," she answered. "Obviously."

"Good," I murmured softly.

A brief silence passed before she continued. "We went shopping afterward. It felt... awkward. But I feel like we’re making progress."

"That’s good," I replied, nodding to myself.

"You sound strange," she noted. "Something wrong?"

I massaged my face using my free hand. "You recall Eleanor? The one I mentioned earlier."

"Yeah?"

"Her brother’s in debt to some dangerous folks. He couldn’t settle it, so they’re harassing her now. I’m working to resolve it."

"Damn..." she whispered. "That’s really messed up."

"Yeah. I’m actually at her place right now. Didn’t want to leave her by herself after everything."

"You’re too kind sometimes, Evan," she said, her voice gentler. "Hope nobody exploits that."

I breathed out a soft laugh. "Too good? That’s a fresh one."

"I mean it."

"Alright, Ms. Komb," I joked. "Didn’t realize you had a tender side."

She gave a light chuckle. "Anyway, I won’t hold you. You seem occupied."

"Yeah. Talk soon?"

"Of course."

"I love you."

"I love you too. Bye."

The call finished, and I pocketed the phone before walking into the living room.