1 Chapter 1: Easy Money

Mina was anxious. She nearly missed the window of time she was given to get into the room, but somehow, she still managed to sneak into the hotel suite. As instructed, she hid in the closet and waited. Sure enough, someone entered a few minutes after her, and Mina held her breath in anticipation. The room was not as large as she imagined it to be in her mind, so her hiding place was close to the entrance. Thinking about it, it was probably a bad place to be, considering that the person on the other side of the door may have decided to hang up his jacket, but she stayed put, already too committed to back down.

"I'm going to shower now; you two can leave until I'm done," said a male voice, piquing Mina's attention. Was that supposed to be her cue? 

The person who had given her the job only told her that she needed to take a photo. He told her she would know when the time was right, but was it the right time? If she stepped out and was wrong, she would ruin the plan, but if she waited and missed the one opportunity she had, then she would fail anyway.

Mina wondered who the man on the other side of the closet could be, but at that moment, and already halfway through what she knew was a crime, she could not bring herself to care. The man was probably the son of some rich family who liked to casually sleep around. He probably married the daughter of another well off family, but still wanted a bit more on the side, and he probably kept a few guards around because he did not want his wife to catch him with his mistress.

Either way, Mina did not care. All she had to do was take a photo of the man and send it to her employer. He had already transferred $50,000 into her account, and he promised to send another $100,000 after she got the job done. In the back of her mind, she knew that if it was worth that much money, the picture she took was probably going to be something extremely racy. 

Suddenly, Mina came to the realization that when she took the picture, the man might be... She felt her face go red as she embarrassed herself with the thought. In all of her life, she never saw a naked man that was not an anatomical drawing, and now she was going to take a snapshot of one. Hopefully, she would not have to see too much.

In the end, Mina decided not to think about it. Even if she did not get a juicy photo, there was not much her employer could do. She already sent the advance payment to her parents, and they did not live in the city. She also knew that they already withdrew the money she sent because she told them that they should take it out to avoid bank fees. She also told them that the money was a combination of a scholarship and sign on bonus for a new job that she did not even have.

Mina's parents, of course, listened to her and did as she said; after all, she was a genius. The transfer to her parents was also untraceable, so unless her employer had powerful connections, she did not have anything to worry about.

Mina originally left home to continue her education in a more prestigious school. She however did not expect the school to suddenly decrease her scholarship amount because she offended some rich princess by getting better grades.

As a result, she turned to odd jobs and even a little petty crime to cover her tuition. Of course, she could have always returned home, but she promised her parents that the next time they saw her, would be the day she was prepared to pave the way to a better life. She just had not quite gotten to that part yet, but she had not given up.

Mina graduated from college with a perfect score among the female students. She even gave a speech at the ceremony. However, that rich little princess was not done with her. She intentionally blocked Mina from finding work in almost all the companies that she applied to. Job interview after job interview, Mina was turned down.

At first, she thought it was because of her appearance, but after spending more money than she had on looking the part, she was still denied. There was even a time when she could tell that one company really liked her, but during the interview an unknown man walked in, whispered something to the interviewer, and the man's entire facial expression changed. He looked at her with a somber expression, and he 'regretfully' informed her that her services would not be needed.

When Mina stood to leave, she asked the man to tell her if it had anything to do with Miss Maggie. He only looked at her once before saying, 'since you are already aware, you also know there is nothing I can do to help you.'

Maggie was from the Arden family. They ran various banks around the country and were very formidable. Since businesses and banks were basically conjoined at the hip, the man before her was truly helpless, just as he said.

Understanding the situation, Mina gave a slight nod of thanks and exited the office. She heard him sigh as he watched her leave, audibly saying that it was a shame that a smart young woman was being snubbed because she could not afford to fight back; a truth that plagued Mina for most of her life.

Fortunately for Mina, not long after that experience, an opportunity fell straight into her lap. While out job hunting, she ran into an old acquaintance from high school; Adley. Although Adley was not very bright, she was still able to move to the city and make her own way.

The woman did not have the intention of moving her family out of the countryside, so things were a little easier for her than they were for Mina. Adley moved to Scal to find a husband, get married, have children, and live a more comfortable life than the one she would have if she stayed back at home, but Mina could not start thinking about those things until after she settled the arrangements for her parents.

After exchanging sob stories, Adley told Mina about a loan Shark who was generous with his loans and how she had gone to him many times when she needed money fast. She said that he told her about an opportunity that could earn her $100,000, but Mina was not interested. She believed any amount of money that large probably involved some sort of trafficking. She was still intact, and planned to keep herself for someone special the way she was taught. No matter how poor she was, she knew that having money was good, but having 'that' sort of money, could only lead to bad.

Soon after reconnecting, things seemed to deteriorate for both women. Adley suddenly lost her job, and subsequently her apartment. She called Mina and asked if she could stay with her for a few days. Mina's apartment was barely big enough for herself; she lived in one of Scal's famous closet homes, but feeling as though she could not abandon a friend, she invited Adley to stay.