"B-bankrupt?" Hope stammered, gaping in horror at her lawyer, Mark Rosenbloom.

Mark grimaced. "I'm afraid so..."

"How can it be?" she exclaimed. "I'd just gotten out a check yesterday and it was al fine!"

Mark shook his head, shakily searching through his papers. "I'm afraid every single penny you have has been taken out. And there are more serious matters..."

Hope's mouth dropped even wider. "M-more? Oh my... I think I might faint..."

"Mother, don't over-exaggerate," Natalie chided the raven-haired woman. She turned to look at the lawyer. "Please, explain."

Mark adjusted his glasses, worry and fear flashing in his brown eyes. "Before Mr. Cahill passed away, there was a large debt left behind in his name. We are not sure of what happened, but the debt... it was quite... huge."

"And we have no more money!" Hope exclaimed. "Goodness gracious!"

"What can be done to pay it?" Natalie asked, ignoring her mother's outburst. "Maybe I can settle it with my earnings..."

"The amount of money... I calculated with what you could pay it," Mark replied, clasping his hands together. "It would sum up to selling your house and two of your three cars."

Now it was Natalie's outburst's turn. "No way! Not my car!"

Meanwhile, in the middle of the highways, or heroine was still shocked, her eyes plastered on the direction the car left.

"What?" she gasped out, her eyes stinging with tears. "What in the world happened?" She looked around the streets, the speeding cars making her dizzy. She got out her phone, trembling, and dialed Evan's number.

No answer.

Amy sobbed, redialing the number. "Answer, please..."

This time, it went straight into voicemail.

"Answer, you idiot!" Amy exclaimed, tears freely spilling down her cheeks as she kicked her bag to the ground. With one sob, she plopped down on top of it, burying her face in her hands.

While the Cahill girls were witnessing their perfect life crumble into pieces, the Kabra family was having a very nice lunch. Their oldest son, Dan, had finally dropped by, and it was the first time in months he joined them to eat at that hour.

"Mmm, spaghetti!" the twenty-six-year-old exclaimed, grinning as if he was still nine. "What's the special occasion?"

Isabel smiled warmly at her son. "That you could finally join us... plus, your ascent in your job."

"Very good job, son!" Vikram announced.

Ian smiled at his older brother.

"Who would've thought that you'd be going from a Tae Kwon Do teacher," Isabel mused. "To the co-owner of the centre."

"I was quite shocked when Professor Oh called me into his office," Dan admitted. "I swore he was going to kick me out of the place."

"I wonder what kind of shenanigans you've done to be scared of that," Vikram told him, smiling.

The family chuckled at Dan's troublemaking ways.

"I swear, I've been very obedient in the past months," Dan told them, munching down a spoonful of spaghetti.

"I also heard that you've switched apartments last month," Isabel said. "When are you going to invite us over and show us around?"

"When I'm done unpacking," Dan answered. He took a sip of water before continuing. "In fact, there's spare room for another resident in my new apartment. I was wondering if Ian would like to move in with me, now that he's gotten a job as a middle school History teacher."

Vikram smiled proudly at his son.

The twenty-four-year-old snapped his head up. Unlike Dan, adventurous and outgoing, he was more on the homey and quiet side. Which was why he was hesitant to move out of home.

Isabel seemed slightly unsettled. Dan and Nellie had already moved out. And even if Nellie lived in the house next door, she was already making a family of her own. Sure, Jake would still be around, but still... she couldn't bear with the moving out of another child of hers.

"I don't know," Ian replied.

"Let him think about it," Isabel chimed in, smiling nervously.

"That's right, the two remaining sons are a tad too loyal to their homes," Dan said. "Speaking of which, where is Jake?"

"He's probably with Atticus at the lake," Isabel answered. "He thinks of Atticus as his little brother, and of that lake as his son. Especially the ducks."

A troubled look appeared on Dan's face. "Atticus as in... Jonah Wizard's younger brother?"

"Obviously," Isabel said, serving herself more water. "There's only one Atticus in this neighborhood... if you could even call it that, since the only other people living here other than us are Irina's family, the Starlings, and Nellie."

Ian and Dan shared a troubled glance. It might not be clear to you now, because it will be explained later. Just have in mind that it has to do with a bet that Dan lost.

"When's grandpa coming back?" Ian asked, trying to change the topic.

Vikram gazed at the clock hanging on the wall. "Well, judging by the time, he'll probably come in time for dessert."

"I wonder if he'll bring back some rich people's cuisine from that wedding," Dan mused, smiling at the thought. Of course, the food had erased any problems he could have out of his memory.

Isabel smiled. "Maybe... that Cahill girl certainly married at a young age. I wonder how her mother is feeling now."

"What baffles me the most," Vikram begun. "Is that the girl is younger than both kids at this table, and she's already married. Shouldn't you Dan be the one coming home to tell me you're proposing to a pretty lady?" Vikram pointed a fork accusingly at his son.

The troubled look returned to Dan's face.

"Do you expect him to come home with a fiancée in hand when he hasn't had a girlfriend in six years?"

The four family members turned to look at the doorway, where Jake was patting their cat, Saladin. Dan and Jake had been adopted, which was why they looked nothing like the Kabras. But still, they were as handsome as Ian and Vikram. Especially Jake.

"Jake!" Isabel exclaimed.

Jake smiled, sitting in his usual spot. "What's all this talk about marriage?"

"Your father being his weird self," Isabel explained, glaring at Vikram. "He wants his son to get married already. Isn't it enough with Nellie?"

"He is twenty-six. He should at least have a girlfriend," Vikram stated matter-of-factly.

"Why are you all looking at me?" Dan asked. "Ian's the one who's never had a girlfriend in his entire life."

Twenty-three-year-old Jake grinned.

"Of course he has," Isabel replied. "I'm sure he dated Sinead. He just doesn't want to admit it because of the loathing between your dad and hers."

Ian opened his mouth to protest, but Isabel continued.

"They're definitely dating right now," Isabel said. "I know it. And Ian, you shouldn't hide it. You're a grown man now, so I'm sure your father won't oppose anymore-"

"Mom," Ian began.

"However, there might be trouble at the wedding, since Mr. Starling and Vikram might cause some ruckus..." Isabel mused.

Ian choked in his own saliva. He gulped down water. "What? Wedding? Mom, there's absolutely never been anything between Sinead and I other than friendship."

"Oh really?" Isabel challenged, smirking.

As they continued to discuss the matter, Amy was walking down the highway, suitcase in tow. She definitely did look like a crazy woman. Her face was stained with make-up-filled tears, and her eyes were puffy from all the crying. The wind caused by the speeding cars had slightly altered her hairstyle. And that pout in her lips didn't help much either.

Amy looked hesitantly at the road next to her. She sobbed dryly. "How am I even gonna do this?" She slightly raised her forearm, but quickly dropped it back again, humphing in frustration. "I'm Amy Cahill, I can't be doing this!" She continued her way in boastful strides, but soon stopped again. Her eyes involuntarily shifted at the road. "But my feet are aching." Shutting her eyes close, she slowly raised her thumb, asking for a ride back to the city. Sadly, cars zoomed by, and none stopped. Amy's mouth was wide in shock. Nobody was going to help her! Her eyes widened as a car went past her, and the driver slowed down... just to laugh at her. As it began to speed up again, Amy grabbed her heel and flung it at the car's trunk. She later gasped in horror. "That was a Louboutin... oh God." She gazed at her now bare foot. She began to wail again, kicking off the other heel.

Suddenly, her phone ringed.

Sniffing, she got out her Samsung Galaxy and accepted the call. "Hello!"

"D34..."

Amy gazed at her phone's screen, frowning. Mom. She pressed it against her ear. "Mother?"

"Oh, Amy! I need to inform you of something," Hope replied, clearly worried.

"Bingo! Bingo!" she heard Natalie exclaim. "Bingo!"

"Where are you?" Amy questioned.

"Wait a sec," Hope said. "We won? We won! Bingo! Bingo!"

"No!" some elderly woman exclaimed. "I won. That mattress and bed sheets are now mine."

"What are you talking about?" Natalie exclaimed. "We won! See? We filled the tablet first!"

A more youthful voice said, "Ladies, ladies, this can all be fixed-"

"No, this woman is cheating! I demand her to be kicked out of the facility," Natalie ordered.

"Mom, are you by chance at the bingo thing? The one every Friday that offers home stuff as prizes?" Amy asked, grasping her necklace in horror.

"It had to be done," Hope explained, as Natalie continued to rant with the announcer. "We had to sell everything. Arthur left a huge debt behind. The lawyer had told us that we only had to sell the house and the two cars-"

"What?" Amy exclaimed, her eyes nearly popping out.

"But the debt turned out to be even bigger," Hope continued. "We had to sell the remaining car and our furniture. We are bankrupt, dear-"

Amy's eyes filled with tears.

Hope's voice was trembling. "No more money, no house... tonight we'll be sleeping at Natalie's clinic. Mr. Rosenbloom says he'll try to keep it confident, since it'll certainly ruin our dignity if word got out. And it might also stain your father's name, since people will think he owed the debt to a casino or something... you know how those people are. Anyways, I wanted to tell you just in case word did get out and it appeared on the news. Gladly, you'll be with Evan, so he might comfort you-"

Amy wailed. "Mommy!"

Hope suddenly broke out in tears. "Amy! I miss shopping! My manicures!"

"Mommy," Amy continued wailing. "Evan left me! I'm in the middle of the street!"

"What?" Hope sobbed. "You mean... that we are really done for, now? The Tollivers won't even help us?"

"He kicked me out of his car! He never loved me!" Amy exclaimed, crying hysterically.

Hope joined along.

"I think you need the mattress and the bed sheets more than me, Miss," the elderly woman told Natalie.