The Five Hundred Thousand Dollar Lie

Three years of playing my guitar until my fingers bled, enduring stale smoke and leering eyes in a Vegas lounge.

It was all for him, my fiancé Jax, to pay off a $500,000 debt that threatened his family's legacy.

Finally, the "contract" was fulfilled, the debt paid, and I was on my way home, dreaming of our reunion.

But when I reached our old apartment, it was empty, a foreclosure notice taped to the door.

Panic clawed at my throat as his phone went straight to voicemail, over and over.