Three Months Ago. Where It All Began.

INTERIOR. NORA’S HOUSE. HALLWAY.

Nora entered the tiny, damp-smelling hallway, carrying heavy grocery bags. Adrian’s icy, contemptuous voice still echoed in her head. Before she could close the door, a silhouette loomed before her. A huge, muscular man in a leather jacket held a baseball bat. The modest apartment had been turned inside out: a complete wreckage, furniture overturned, things scattered.

Her mother sat on her knees amidst the chaos, clasping her hands and choking back silent tears. Her stepfather — wretched, beaten — lay on the floor near the kitchen door, clutching his ribs. Two other thugs sat casually on the ripped sofa, as if it were a throne room.

Gangster: Hello, Nora, — one of the seated men growled. — We’ve been waiting for you. Your stepfather said you should give us the money.

Nora: I… I’ll return it! Soon! I promise! — Nora dropped the bags, which immediately spilled across the floor, and tried to stand between them and her mother.

Nora was ready to do anything for them to just disappear. Promising to repay the debt in the coming days, she managed to persuade them to leave her mother and stepfather alone. Just before leaving, the man with the bat pinned her against the wall.

Gangster: Listen to me, beautiful, if the money isn’t here… — he trailed the cold blade of the bat along the contour of her thigh. — You’ll pay with your beautiful body. And your mother’s organs will be put up for sale. Understood?

They left. Nora, trembling, raised her head and looked at her stepfather.

Nora: Again! You were gambling again?! — her scream tore the silence. — You promised! You swore you wouldn’t do it again!

The stepfather, writhing in pain, tried to get up.

Stepfather: I… I wanted to win it back, Nora. I swear, I wanted to return it!

Her mother clutched her heart, her face grey.

Mother: Nora, my dear! Don’t yell at him. He meant well.

Nora: Well for whom?!

Mother: He wanted to win it back. Help us! We’re family, aren’t we! Family! — her tears streamed down.

Nora turned away. Family. They were a pit that demanded more and more. She looked at her phone. Remembered Adrian. And his offer. But she couldn’t agree to that deal. She had to work harder and repay the debt.

INTERIOR. HOTEL IN A PROVINCIAL TOWN. ROOM.

The huge panoramic window of the VIP room offered a view of the coastal provincial town near London. The town looked grey, damp, and frozen in time.

Adrian sat at a massive table, reviewing documents. There was a quiet, respectful knock on the door.

Adrian: Enter.

Adrian didn’t even lift his head. The Assistant walked in.

Assistant: The gangsters visited Nora, — he reported, closing the door behind him. — Everything went… as you requested.

Adrian walked to the window and looked at the phone in his hand.

Assistant: She hasn’t called yet? — the Assistant asked, breaking the tense silence.

Adrian: No. That means she hasn’t reached despair yet. We must leave this proud little bird no choice.

Assistant: Aren’t we crossing a line? — the Assistant asked cautiously.

Adrian: In what? Ellen wanted to sell herself to me to escape the beatings. And Nora is already sold — she coaxes men into buying drinks. She’s used to the dirt. She is a perfect tool. She has nothing that can be broken except her pride, and I’ll quickly fix that.

INTERIOR. “THE GOLDFISH” BAR.

Nora came to the bar a little early. She needed the money promised for that humiliating night with Adrian. She approached the manager.

Nora: I came for my payment. For that night and for the month, as you promised.

The Manager quickly counted out a stack of bills — the sum was substantial, but not enough to save her family.

Manager: Here.

Nora clutched the money in her fist. She headed to the dressing room to prepare for the evening shift, hoping these bills would at least briefly delay the end. At that moment, the bar door burst open with a crash. The gangsters — the same ones who had trashed her house — stormed in. They didn’t come to ask. They came to take.

Gangster: Where’s the money, Nora?! — one of them roared, clenching his fist.

Nora frantically pulled the received bills from her pocket.

Nora: Here! All I have!

The gangster contemptuously took the money and threw the stack on the floor, without even counting.

Gangster: Are you messing with me?! You promised to return the whole sum!

The destruction began. Tables, chairs, bottles — everything was flying to pieces. The gangsters smashed furniture and mirrors, turning “The Goldfish” into ruins, while the manager and the few staff members huddled in terror in the corner. Finally, satisfied with the destruction, the gangsters left. A deathly silence hung over the shattered bar. The Manager, trembling with rage, rushed out from behind the counter and went straight to Nora.

Manager: Get out of here! We don’t need you anymore! Get out! — he screamed, spitting. — I’m going to lose everything because of you!

She was pushed out onto the street like a dirty dog. Nora stood on the wet pavement, in tears, without money, without a job.

The world collapsed. She had nowhere to go. No pride was left. Only despair.

Her hand fumbled for something hard and smooth in her jacket pocket. A business card. Black as night. The very one Adrian had slipped her in the VIP room. She stared at the number for a long time. With a trembling hand, as if signing a death sentence, she dialed it.

Nora: I… I agree, — Nora’s voice was broken, but it held a steely, forced determination.

A pause. A second that felt like an eternity as she waited for a reply.

And Adrian’s voice — calm, icy, confident:

Adrian: I expected no other answer from you.