Hana's grip on the shopping bag tightened until her knuckles went white.
This had to be a joke. Some kind of cruel prank. Things like this didn't happen to women like her.
"That's..." Her voice trembled. "That's too generous. I can't possibly—there has to be something else you want—"
"There isn't."
"But I'm—I'm nobody. Just a... just a housewife with debt. Why would you—"
"Can you pay them back yourself?" Raven asked bluntly, cutting through her spiral.
The question hit like a physical blow.
Hana's lips trembled. Her eyes dropped to the ground.
"I... I do small jobs," she said quietly, shame coloring every word. "Cleaning houses in the neighborhood. A few families hire me for a few hours here and there. It's not much, but if I save carefully, if I'm frugal, maybe in a few years—"
"How much do you owe?"
She hesitated, her throat working as she swallowed hard.
"Eighty thousand koruna," she whispered.
