It was another busy night at the restaurant where Leonardo worked as a valet. After another luxury vehicle stopped, he approached, opened the driver's door and waited for another couple to exit the car. As soon as they did, Leonardo entered the vehicle and drove it to the parking lot. At just twenty years old, Leonardo was of average height, with beautiful grayish blue eyes that sparkled like a clear pool. He didn't have high expectations in life as he had to work two jobs to support the household he shared with his father in a suburban neighborhood.

Leonardo's father,Tade,had become an alcoholic after the death of his mother, who had succumbed to a degenerative disease two years ago, leaving them devastated. Now Leonardo had to work two jobs to pay the bills and the debts his father accumulated in nightclubs, with prostitutes, and at casinos where he gambled recklessly.

Returning from the parking lot, ready to park another car, Leonardo saw his friend Tobias approaching him in a hurry. Tobias stopped in front of him, out of breath, and leaned on his knees to recover his breath before speaking.

"Leonardo, you need to come quickly, it's your father."

"Sigh, what happened this time?" Leonardo asked, looking concerned and tired of this routine.

"He got beaten up and is lying in front of the nightclub," Tobias informed, standing still in front of him.

Upon hearing his friend's words, Leonardo covered his face with his hands. He was tired of living a life revolving around getting his father out of trouble. Every hour brought a different problem, and it had already cost him four jobs. With limited options, he turned to the other valet, informing him of a family emergency and the need to leave. Then he ran off with Tobias towards Luxurious, the most exclusive nightclub in the city.

Upon arrival, they looked around but couldn't find Tade where Tobias had seen him being dragged across the street onto the sidewalk.

"He was right here," Tobias said, scanning the area, searching for Tade. "I saw those guys dragging him, all beaten up, towards this place."

Leonardo and his friend walked from one end of the sidewalk to the other, but Tade was nowhere to be found. Leonardo took a deep breath, still very worried, and walked back to Tobias.

"I think he might have made it home," Leonardo said to Tobias, trying to appear unconcerned but unable to hide the worry in his voice.

"Then let's go there."

"No, Tobias. It's alright, I'll handle it," he didn't want to further ruin his friend's evening with his family problems. "I'll call you if anything. Thanks again."

"Alright. I'll head back to the nightclub, then."

After bidding farewell, Tobias returned to the nightclub while Leonardo, despite his tiredness, walked home. He wished he still had his motorcycle, but he had sold it to pay off one of his father's gambling debts. It took forty minutes for Leonardo to reach his house, which now displayed a flowerless garden with tall, neglected grass.

In front of his house, there was a parked black car, seemingly luxurious, but he didn't pay it much attention. He simply hoped to find his father at home, or else he would have to search for him. He opened the rusty gate, which squealed softly, and walked towards the door. As soon as he opened it, he was startled to see his father, badly injured, along with three men standing in the living room. One of them had a gun pointed at Tade's head. The scene filled Leonardo with a mix of fear, anger, and a tightness in his chest.

"Father, what is this?" He took a few steps towards the man with his back turned, ready to pull the trigger. "Get that gun away from my father's head."

The man turned, looking at him coldly, causing Leonardo to feel a terrible chill running down his spine. The man looked him up and down. He was a tall man dressed in a completely black suit, including his tie. His eyes were dark brown, almost black, just like his clothes.

"Your dear father owes me some money," he said, his voice cold, and he lowered his gaze, looking Leonardo up and down. "I gave him a deadline, which he didn't meet, so I came to collect my money."

Leonardo tried to approach again, but the men raised their guns towards him, making him freeze where he stood.

"How much is the debt?" Leonardo asked, glancing sideways and seeing the two men still pointing their weapons at him.

The mastermind continued to stare at him, observing the panic in the young man's eyes. He gestured for the men to lower their guns, and immediately, Leonardo felt a bit of relief.

"Twenty-eight thousand dollars," he replied calmly, still holding the gun in his right hand.

"What?" Leonardo looked from the man to his father, who was crying like a child. "I don't have that kind of money. Please, give me a few more days. I'll try to get the money," he pleaded, almost begging the man, whose hair seemed like that of a Mr. Charming in the soap operas, but without the need for gel.

The man chuckled nasally, still looking at Leonardo, and he also lowered his weapon, further alleviating the situation.

"Midnight tomorrow," he stared intently into Leonardo's clear eyes. "Bring the money to the Luxurious ; I'll be waiting for you in the VIP area."

"Tomorrow?" Leonardo exclaimed indignantly at the given deadline. "Give me a few more days; I can't do it by tomorrow."

"That's my deadline. If I don't have my money by midnight, you can bid farewell to your dear father," the man said slowly, and harshly.

He passed by Leonardo, leaving the room and leaving him completely stunned by it all. Just when he thought he was alone with his father, one of the men handed him a card. Leonardo took the card, which had only one name written in golden letters: Frank Gold.

He turned the card in his fingers, but there was nothing on the other side, not even a phone number.

Leonardo looked at his father, completely disappointed. His father was still sitting on the couch, crying and trembling from the fear he had felt with that gun pointed at his head.

"When will this end, father?"

"Forgive me, son. I will stop, I swear."

Leonardo nodded and left the room, leaving his father behind. He was so angry and scared, he didn't want to argue now and he knew that if he stayed there, he would end up saying things that would hurt them. This was one of the things he had learned from his mother. She always said that we should think before speaking because words hurt, and once we let them out, there's no turning back.

Leonardo entered his room and changed out of his uniform, putting on more comfortable clothes. He sat on his bed, deep in thought. How would he come up with this money?

He thought about asking his boss at the restaurant where he worked, even though he knew the amount was high and could anticipate the response. He should try, and if he couldn't get it, he could try getting a loan from the bank or maybe mortgage the house.

He heard his father coming up the stairs and opened the door, peeking as he entered the room and lay down on his bed. He couldn't deny that he was worried, but he was also tired of this life. It was always the same thing.

In the morning, Leonardo woke up early and took a shower. He got dressed and before leaving, he left a cup of coffee ready for his father on the table.

He walked to the bus stop to go to the diner. His plan was to arrive early to talk to Gerard before their restaurant opened.

Upon arriving, he entered his daytime job and went to the kitchen, where he found his boss making a shopping list.

"Good morning, Gerard. Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Leonardo asked, looking serious, and Gerard looked at him and nodded.

"Of course, Leo. Let's go to my office."

Leonardo followed him and sat down, looking anxiously at Gerard in front of him.

"Tell me, Leo, how can I help you?"

"I know it may sound crazy, but I need to borrow some money," he got straight to the point, with Gerard, he didn't need to beat around the bush.

"Ah, yes, and how much do you need?"

Leonardo looked at him hesitantly, took a deep breath before responding.

"Twenty-eight thousand dollars."

Gerard looked surprised, expecting the amount to be a little lower.

"My God, Leonardo, that's a very high amount. If it were up to five thousand dollars, I could help you. Is it your father again?"

"Yes," his facial expression didn't hide the concern he was feeling.

"Sorry, Leo, but I don't have that amount to lend you."

"That's alright. No problem," he thought for a moment and continued, "Can I leave early today? I need to find a way to raise that money today, without fail."

"Of course, you can. As soon as Denise arrives at ten, you can leave, okay?"

"Alright, thank you, Gerard. Excuse me."

Leonardo worked until ten, as agreed upon. The morning rush was busy, and time flew by quickly.

He walked to the bank where he asked to speak to the manager.

He sat down, waiting, his legs bouncing constantly. He was anxious to get the money.

"Mr. Leonardo Guerrero?"

A short man called him from the door of a room. He stood up and went to the man, shaking hands with him. The man closed the door behind him as soon as he entered and directed him to a chair.

"Please, have a seat, young man," he pointed to the chair, indicating for Leonardo to sit.

Leonardo sat down, and the man looked at him curiously.

"My name is Andre, how can I assist you, Mr. Guerrero?"

"I need a loan, I've had an account here for some time."

"Alright, could you give me your ID?"

Leonardo handed him his ID and watched as the man worked on his computer.

"We can approve a loan amount of seven thousand dollars."

"That's all? I need a little more."

Andre observed him even more curiously and took off his glasses, wanting to know why he needed the money. Maybe it was for an investment? A trip?

"And what amount would that be?"

"Twenty-eight thousand dollars."

"Hm, I see. Unfortunately, it hasn't been long since you opened the account with us, and we can't approve that amount."

"So I want to mortgage my house, I brought the necessary documents for that."

He took the house documents out of the envelope and placed them on Andre's table, who took them surprised and looked at them with a more analytical gaze. He noticed that Leonardo seemed like a responsible young man and felt curious about why he wanted this money. But with his vast experience, he knew that there could also be the possibility of him getting involved in some trouble.

"Just a minute."

Andre looked at the documents and continued typing on his computer, completely focused. But he made an expression that Leonardo didn't like very much, it was that "sorry, I can't help" face that he knew all too well.

"Mr. Guerrero, your house is already mortgaged, and the installments are overdue. If they are not paid by next month, you will lose the house."

Leonardo felt as if heavy ice stones had fallen on his back.

The manager showed him the mortgage data from a few months ago, and Leonardo discovered that his father had done it without even informing him.

Leonardo left the bank frustrated. What would he do now? His only hope was the mortgage. Now everything was lost. He would lose the house, and his father would be killed by a loan shark.

Leonardo arrived home completely frustrated. His father was sitting in the living room, watching the sports channel, with a half-empty bottle of vodka in his hand.

"Dad, are you drinking again?" He spoke indignantly.

"Don't bother, Leo," slurredTade, clearly drunk.

"Don't bother? Are you kidding me? By the way, when were you planning to tell me that you mortgaged the house? When they were throwing our things out?"

Tade looked surprised and took another sip of his drink, muttering something that Leonardo couldn't understand.

"Dad, I'm tired of this. I can't live like this anymore. I'm going to find a way to hospitalize you."

"You're out of your mind, Leonardo. I'm not going anywhere."

He got up from the sofa but couldn't stand upright, both because he was already drunk and he felt pain on his body from the beating he had received the night before. Leonardo took a deep breath and stared at him, still angry.

Ignoring his mother's advice, he poured out his anger.

"That's enough. I can't take this anymore. You're a disgusting drunk. I'm ashamed of you. My mother would be totally disappointed. You're ruining your life and dragging me down with you. I couldn't get the money, you know what? I'm seriously thinking about packing my things and leaving, leaving you here for those lowlifes to give you what you deserve."

Tadelooked at his son, completely astonished by this outburst and his words. Leonardo had never raised his voice like this with him before.

Leonardo then went to his room and slammed the door shut, leaning his back against the closed door.

As soon as he said those words, he regretted it, but it was already said, there was nothing he could do. He paced back and forth in the room, nervous, trying to distract himself.

As he passed the dresser again, he saw the black card with the name written in golden letters, "Frank Gold." He picked it up and sat on the bed, looking at it thoughtfully, twirling the card between his fingers.

"That's it. I'm going there and asking for more time, and maybe I'll get the money."

He spent the rest of the afternoon nervous and locked in his room. He had no appetite, and when the clock on his bedside table struck nine-thirty at night, dressed and ready, he left, walking past his father sprawled drunk on the couch.

Leonardo walked to the avenue and hailed a passing taxi. Despite being short on cash, he wasn't going to walk there. As soon as he got in, he asked the driver to take him to Luxurious.

After getting out of the taxi, he looked at the grand façade of the club and the people in line. He had no desire to wait in that long line and put his hand in his pocket, taking out Frank's card.

He looked at the door, where a big security guard stood, and confidently walked up to him. He didn't know if his plan would work, but he still stopped in front of the man, looking determined and showing him the card in his hand.

"Good evening, Mr. Frank is expecting me."

The security guard looked him up and down, and smiled in a way that made him uncomfortable before allowing him to pass.

Leonardo entered, thankful and happy that his plan had worked.

The club was crowded, and he made his way through the dancing people. But for him, that night was not a cause for celebration – he needed to try and save his father's life.

He stopped in the middle of the crowd and looked around, searching for the VIP area. He quickly found it, looking up and seeing Frank standing there, looking down.

He weaved through the people until he reached the staircase leading to the VIP area. There, a security guard stopped him, and he remembered the card in his pocket. He took it out and showed it to the man, speaking loudly so that he could be heard.

"Mr. Frank Gold is expecting me upstairs." Leonardo shouted, pointing his index finger upwards.

Upon hearing and seeing the card, the man allowed him entry. Leonardo was surprised at the power of that card. He wished it were powerful enough to solve the problems his father was causing.

He climbed the stairs and as he reached the VIP area, he could recognize some politicians there with women in their laps; he decided to ignore them, thinking about how dirty this world was. He walked over to where Frank Gold was, but as he approached, two men stood in front of him, blocking his way and preventing him from getting closer to Frank. Upon noticing the commotion caused by his men, Frank turned around and saw Leonardo standing there.

"Let him pass," Frank's voice boomed, almost like an unexpected thunderclap.

The men moved aside and Leonardo approached. He hadn't noticed the night before how sturdy and tall Frank was; his dark eyes were still shadowy and strangely uncomfortable.

"Did you get my money, Mr. Guerrero?"

Leonardo shook his head negatively, but he needed to ask for more time. He wouldn't give up so easily.

"No. I need more time, Mr. Gold."

Frank approached, grabbing Leonardo by the neck and pressing him against the wall. He was lifted from the ground and he looked around, hoping someone would help him, but everyone seemed oblivious to what was happening, which made him even more desperate.