Her bank balance didn’t just drop—it vanished. What Erica did next turned heartbreak into a countdown.
Erica Swanson stared at her phone as if it had just betrayed her. The screen glowed with a cheerful bank alert—Withdrawal: $4,000. She tapped the app, her pulse quickening. Her balance blinked back at her: $0.25.
“Dumb, dumb, dumb,” she shrieked to the empty apartment. Tyler. Of course. She’d dumped him last week—his lies finally outweighing his smile—but she’d forgotten one fatal detail. He still had access to her checking account. The same charm that once made waiters comp desserts had just erased her summer in Europe.
She paced, rage bubbling, replaying every red flag she’d ignored. An hour later, the anger cooled into something sharper. Erica stopped pacing. She smiled.
Maybe it’s not over.
She opened her contacts and scrolled to a name she hadn’t dialed in years.
Rick.
Her brother answered on the second ring. Former Navy SEAL. Quiet. Efficient. The kind of man who believed consequences were educational.
“Rick,” Erica said calmly, staring at the balance again. “How do you feel about Europe?”
There was a pause.
Then: “Who are we visiting?”
Writer’s Question
If you continued this story, what price would Tyler end up paying—and would Erica cross a line to collect it?