Chapter 4: Interest Compounding
Vincent Torrino received the news of Judge Morrison's ruling while he was having lunch at his favorite restaurant—the same one where he'd broken Marcus Chen's fingers twelve hours earlier. The irony wasn't lost on him as he cut into his veal, the meat tender and pink under his knife.
"Beautiful work, Your Honor," he said into his phone, watching the blood pool on his plate. "Clean, efficient, and permanent. Everything I appreciate in a business partner."
Judge Morrison's voice carried the satisfaction of a job well done. "The case is dismissed with prejudice, Vincent. She can't refile, can't appeal. It's buried deeper than Jimmy Hoffa."
"And the court costs?"
"Eighteen hundred dollars. Due immediately, or we can start garnishing what's left of her assets."
Vincent smiled and took another bite of veal. The meat practically dissolved on his tongue, seasoned with the tears of his enemies. "Add it to her tab. I'll be collecting everything she owes tonight."
After hanging up, Vincent opened his tablet and reviewed the Martinez file. Sarah Martinez now owed him $15,000 in principal, plus interest, plus court costs, plus the penalty fees he'd be adding for her attempt to circumvent their agreement through legal channels. The total came to $19,847.
It was a beautiful number—large enough to be impossible, specific enough to sound official, and devastating enough to destroy what was left of her pathetic life.
Vincent's phone buzzed with a text from Tony Ricci: *Package delivered. Clean entry. No witnesses.*
Perfect. While Sarah had been in court watching her last hope die, Tony had been busy at her apartment, installing the surveillance equipment and preparing the collection site. Vincent believed in being thorough—when you owned someone's life, you needed to document every moment of their destruction.
He finished his lunch and drove to the Martinez apartment building, a festering sore on Gotham's Lower East Side. The building superintendent, a tweaker named Eddie who owed Vincent three grand in gambling debts, had provided the keys and the security codes. Everyone in this neighborhood was either a customer, a debtor, or future merchandise.
Vincent climbed to the third floor, his Italian leather shoes silent on the stained carpet. The hallway smelled like piss and broken dreams, but Vincent had grown up in places like this. He understood that poverty was a business opportunity, and desperation was the most renewable resource in Gotham.
He knocked on apartment 3B with the gentle tap of a concerned neighbor.
"Mrs. Martinez? It's Vincent. I heard about the court case. I thought you might want to discuss our arrangement."
The silence stretched for thirty seconds before the door opened a crack, still secured by the chain lock. Sarah's eye appeared in the gap, red-rimmed and hollow with exhaustion.
"I told you, I need more time. The case—"
"Is over," Vincent finished. "Dismissed with prejudice. No appeal possible. And now you owe court costs on top of everything else." He held up his tablet, showing her the updated balance. "Nineteen thousand, eight hundred and forty-seven dollars. Plus today's interest, of course."
Sarah's face went white. "That's impossible. You said fifteen thousand—"
"I said a lot of things. What I'm saying now is that your debt has compounded. Legal fees, penalties for attempting to breach our contract, and emotional distress for the trouble you've caused me." Vincent's smile was sharp enough to cut glass. "But I'm a reasonable man. I'm prepared to offer you a payment plan."
"What kind of payment plan?"
Vincent gestured to the chain lock. "Why don't you invite me in? This conversation requires privacy."
Sarah hesitated, her maternal instincts warring with her desperation. Finally, she released the chain and stepped back. Vincent entered the apartment, noting the placement of Tony's hidden cameras, the reinforced door locks, and the strategic positioning of his men in the building's stairwells.
The apartment was a shrine to poverty—thrift store furniture, generic groceries, and the pervading smell of fear. Sofia Martinez sat at the kitchen table, working on homework while an IV drip fed medication into her thin arm. She looked up as Vincent entered, her dark eyes curious but unafraid.
"Mama, who's the man in the fancy suit?"
"A friend of Mama's, sweetheart. Keep working on your math."
Vincent studied the child with the clinical interest of a livestock appraiser. Eight years old, underdeveloped due to malnutrition, but she had potential. The medical condition was actually a selling point for certain clients—they enjoyed the power dynamic of complete dependency.
"Beautiful daughter," Vincent said, his voice carrying undertones that made Sarah's skin crawl. "She has your eyes."
"Don't." Sarah's voice was barely a whisper. "Please don't."
Vincent sat down on the couch without invitation, crossing his legs and making himself comfortable. "Mrs. Martinez, let's discuss your options. Option one: you pay me nineteen thousand, eight hundred and forty-seven dollars by midnight tonight."
"I don't have that kind of money. You know I don't."
"Option two: you begin working for me to pay off your debt. I have several business ventures that require female participation. The work is demanding, but the pay is regular."
Sarah's hands clenched into fists. "I won't—"
"Option three," Vincent continued as if she hadn't spoken, "Sofia joins my youth development program. I have clients who are very interested in sponsoring promising young girls. They provide housing, education, and all necessary medical care."
The medication drip made a soft clicking sound as it fed life into Sofia's veins. The child continued working on her fractions, unaware that her future was being bartered in the next room.
"You're talking about selling my daughter," Sarah said, her voice hollow with horror.
"I'm talking about providing opportunities," Vincent corrected. "Sofia would have access to private medical care, tutoring, and social connections that could benefit her for life. Some of my youngest alumni have gone on to very successful careers."
He pulled out his phone and showed Sarah a photo—a teenage girl in an expensive dress, smiling at a camera while an older man's hands rested possessively on her shoulders.
"This is Amanda. She started working for me when she was ten. Now she's seventeen and engaged to a very prominent businessman. Her medical bills? Taken care of. Her education? Private school and college prep. Her future? Secured."
Sarah stared at the photo, seeing past the expensive dress and makeup to the emptiness in the girl's eyes. "How many others?"
"Enough to know what works." Vincent pocketed the phone and checked his watch. "I'm a businessman, Mrs. Martinez. I don't make money from damaged goods. My girls are well-cared for, well-educated, and well-protected. They live better than they ever would have in places like this."
He gestured around the apartment with obvious distaste. "Look at your daughter's future here. Malnutrition, substandard education, progressive medical deterioration. She'll be dead before she's sixteen, or worse—she'll survive and end up like you."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Vincent's smile was a blade wrapped in silk. "Desperate. Broken. Begging men like me for mercy that doesn't exist."
Sofia looked up from her homework, sensing the tension in the room. "Mama? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, baby. Keep working."
Vincent stood and walked to the kitchen table, looming over the child like a well-dressed predator. "What are you studying, sweetheart?"
"Fractions," Sofia replied, her voice small but not afraid. "I'm trying to figure out three-quarters of twenty-four."
"Eighteen," Vincent said immediately. "Three-quarters of twenty-four is eighteen. You take the whole number and multiply it by the numerator, then divide by the denominator."
Sofia's face lit up with understanding. "Oh! So if I want half of sixteen, I multiply sixteen by one and divide by two?"
"Exactly. You're a very smart girl, Sofia. Smart girls do well in my programs."
Sarah moved quickly, putting herself between Vincent and her daughter. "Get away from her."
"I'm just helping with homework," Vincent said innocently. "Education is important. It opens doors that might otherwise remain closed."
He returned to the couch and checked his watch again. "It's now 2:30 PM. You have nine and a half hours to make your decision. Option one, option two, or option three. But Mrs. Martinez?" His voice hardened to steel. "You will choose one of them. The alternative is... unpleasant."
"What alternative?"
Vincent's smile vanished, replaced by something that belonged in nightmares. "I burn this building down with both of you inside. Then I collect on your life insurance and call it a day."
The apartment fell silent except for the click of Sofia's IV drip and the distant sound of sirens in the Gotham afternoon. Vincent let the silence stretch, watching Sarah's face cycle through horror, despair, and finally, acceptance.
"I need time to think."
"You have nine and a half hours. Not a minute more." Vincent stood and straightened his tie. "I'll return at midnight for your answer. I suggest you use the time wisely."
He walked to the door, then paused. "Oh, and Mrs. Martinez? Don't even think about running. I have people watching this building, your daughter's school, and every hospital in the city. You're in my ecosystem now, and in ecosystems, the strong survive by consuming the weak."
Vincent left the apartment and walked down the hallway, humming the same Italian song his grandfather used to sing. Behind him, he could hear Sarah Martinez crying—not the angry tears of defiance, but the broken sobs of complete defeat.
His phone buzzed with a message from Tony: *Building secured. All exits covered. Martinez package ready for midnight collection.*
Vincent replied: *Excellent. Prepare both scenarios. I want options.*
As he descended the stairs, Vincent thought about fractions. Three-quarters of twenty-four was indeed eighteen. Three-quarters of a life was about fifty-seven years. Three-quarters of a childhood was about thirteen years.
Sofia Martinez was eight years old. That meant she had approximately five years of childhood left to enjoy, assuming she lived that long. Vincent planned to make the most of those remaining fractions.
He stepped out into the Gotham afternoon, where the sun was trying to burn through the smog and failing. The city sprawled around him like a feast laid out for predators, full of broken families and desperate parents and children who would soon learn that innocence was just another commodity to be bought and sold.
Vincent adjusted his gold watch and smiled. In nine and a half hours, he would collect his payment in full, one way or another. The scales of justice might be broken, but the scales of commerce were working perfectly.
Business was good.