<div style="text-align: justify;">Henderson, Nevada - Thursday<br/><br/>Inside a small and tidy apartment, a young woman paced back and forth while talking on her phone. The long curly hair, almost pitch black, flew behind her as she paced quickly. It was clear that, whatever conversation was going on, it wasn’t a pleasant one. “I can’t believe you are in debt again”, she said in a tired voice. “How do you do this to yourself? You know what, nevermind. It’s not exactly a surprise”, the girl completed somewhat harshly. After the words from the other side, she sighed. “I’m sorry, mom. I’m just worried and stressed. Look… I’ll be there over the weekend, and we’ll figure this out. Just stay home, and stay out of trouble. Be good. Love you too… bye”.<br/><br/>Las Vegas, Nevada - Saturday <br/><br/>As promised, Melissa had taken the drive from her home in Henderson to her mother’s house in Las Vegas. She rarely went there, and for good reason. That place had never been a home. It had been the place where she cried herself to sleep while her mother was too drunk to care, or fooling around with some random guy. The place where she had tried to be different, and almost raised herself. The place she had left with tears of relief in her eyes when she had managed to get herself out.<br/><br/>And now she was back, yet again, to fix one of her mother’s messes. Melissa wondered why she even bothered. But she knew the answer, deep down inside. That woman had given birth to her. And she knew guilt would eat her alive if something bad happened because she had refused to help. And of course, something bad happening was very possible considering the people her mother liked hanging out with. <br/><br/>She had spent the day trying to tidy up and clean the house, and shop for some real food for her mother, since she had to wait for night to come to talk to whoever it was her mother owed money to this time and once again pay whatever debt she had this time. When night came, she was finally ready to go - albeit not really happy to step into a casino. <br/><br/>“This is going to be the last time. Do you understand that?”, she told her mother firmly. “If you get into debt again, I will come here and you will move to Henderson where I can keep an eye on you. This is not a negotiation”. <br/><br/>After this statement, Melissa stepped out of the house without waiting for an answer. She already knew what it would be, anyway. Parking near the casino, she sighed and stepped in. The young woman had made sure to dress in a way that made clear she wasn’t there to party - dark wash jeans and a dark green polo T-shirt, along with a pair of green sneakers were her chosen attire. <br/><br/>As soon as she stepped in, she looked for the first person who seemed to work for the casino and touched the man’s arm, feeling a bit uncomfortable to be there. “E-excuse me…”, she started quietly. “I’m looking for Mr. Jace Elliot… I.... was told that I could find him here”. After her words, Melissa just stood there, trying not to run away, and waited. She needed to stay and talk to this man, whoever he happened to be. She had to fix this - once again.</div>