Pride and Joy (Crippling Debt) (Patreon)

((Y/N)'s POV) age: 6

Today was my dad's birthday and he just got his check from Grandma and Grandpa as well as a few extra bucks from the state. He said we were going to spend extra long at the casino today and I was going to be in the Kid Zone while he tries to win. He won a few times before and it was nice at those times, but he loses a lot, but still says that next time he'll win the jackpot. Grandma always tried to get him to stay out of the casino, but now he just tells me not to tell them that he still goes and keep it our secret.

Daddy-Come on, Casino's waiting!

I just put on my socks and shoes then went to the bathroom to look in the mirror to brush my teeth.

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When I was done, I ran down the hall and almost tripped on loose board that sticks up a lot. I saw my dad was already outside by the door to lock it as soon as I got out then we got in the care, and he gave me a bag of food.

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Daddy-I got a good feeling today buddy. A feeling that all of this is about to change.

(Y/N)-O-Ok.

He doesn't like it when you don't agree with him winning then starts going on about luck and stuff. It was a bit of a drive before we made it to the "Chance of Pride" casino and a lot of people knew him by name... Mostly the staff that were all furries, but he doesn't know that some of the people that work here laugh at him behind his back because i've seen it before. When he got me to the Kid Zone, they let me in since we had a pass, but there's all sorts of stuff to do in here while I have almost no money to do anything.

Daddy-I'll just be a few hours then i'll give you some winnings to play some games. I'm gonna hit that jackpot today! I can feel it son!

The tall wolf man at the gate just snickered, so I just went to go sit down at the drawing table that almost no kids were at.

(Zoe's POV)

I was in my office for another day at work, but all I really do is leave most of it to the team of accounts and a few others to manage games. All I really do is make executive decisions and see if anything stands out to me. I even have a chart of clients that come here that are in huge debt and security keeps me informed when one of those clients comes in and its mainly humans on this list. When I just opened my makeup kit, I looked into the mirror to just add some eyeliner before my office intercom beeped, so I listened in.

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Speaker-Madam Caine, Mr. (L/N) is here and his due date for another payment is coming up.

Zoe-*Sigh* How much is his minimum payment?

Speaker-$1,980 madam.

This guy was unbelievable, and I was just ready to ban him from this place. There's no way that guy was going to pay off his debt to my casino.

Zoe-Have one of our accounts send me his record. I'm taking care of this.

Speaker-Yes madam.

Soon they sent me his file and this guy seems to love gambling high on card games as well as camp out at a few select slot machines. He was known for his positive attitude about winning, but in reality, he was a naive idiot, and he was lucky I was not the kind of woman that has a secret gang to collect his money by force. I was above that. Regardless, I was about to put him on the banned list until I noticed something on his transactions here.

Zoe-Kid Zone Pass?

I mainly have a Kid Zone to look over it from a window I have in my private room I have for breaks at work when my daughters were little, but I never realized he had a kid. I watch kids in the Kid Zone play around because I think they look cute that way, but I never saw him drop a kid off. On top of that...

Zoe's mind-He has a kid, and he spends a lot of time here racking up his debt?! How stupid is he?!

I decided to head to the Kid Zone to see how this child is holding up and I just hope it's one of those situations where he lives with literally anyone else responsible in his family. I walked through the casino and when I made it to the gated area the team member stood up straight for me, but I clearly saw him lounging against the wall which I don't mind as long as he doesn't let kids out into the casino.

Wolf Man-Good morning, Madam Caine. Is there something you need?

Zoe-Do you know which kid is Mr. (L/N)'s? Security reasons and be ready to contact CPS incase worst comes to worst.

Wolf Man-Umm... Yes. I believe he mostly sits at the coloring table. He has brown hair and has a red and white long sleeve shirt on.

He let me in, and I looked for the kid he described and that goes for some of these other kids, and they were looking at me as I walked by. Soon I saw the coloring table and I saw a little boy matching the description and he looked kind of isolated and shy.

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((Y/N)'s POV)

I was playing a word search alone until I noticed someone come up to the table and it was a tall lion lady.

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She bent down to me and smiled, but I felt nervous to my stomach and my cheeks got warm when I looked at her fur and thought she was pretty.

???-Hey there. Is your last name (L/N)?

(Y/N)-U-Um... y-y-yes. *whisper*

???-*Giggles* Relax, you're not in trouble. I wanted to talk to you about your daddy.

(Y/N)-Y-You know my dad?

???-In a way... I see he packed you a lunch.

(Y/N)-It's... j-just a peanut butter sandwich.

???-I see... Why are you here all alone? You look like you just put yourself in timeout.

The way she said it made my cheeks warmer and I tried to hide it by turning away, but her smile got bigger. I told her I don't have money to play the arcade games here then she just went over to a machine and pulled out her card. I tried to stop her and say it was alright, but she ignored me and swiped it and got a $50 card for games then gave it to me.

???-Call me Ms. Caine. Let's talk while you play a few games here... What's your name?

(Y/N)-... (Y/N).

(Zoe's POV)

I thought he could use a little fun after his broke father left him in here with nothing but a sandwich that was even folded to make it smaller. He was clearly shy, and I find it cute yet concerning because now I worry about conditions at home. I don't see bruises and he seem to think his dad is a nice guy, so at least he's not abusive, but clearly neglectful. (Y/N) was playing a VR game we have here, and I guess it was his favorite, but he also liked Pinball and even wanted to play air hockey with me. It was still very easy to get him flustered and suddenly I snapped out of it when I realized I came here to see if he was doing alright.

Zoe's mind-I need to ban his father from here. It's for this child's own good.

Who was I kidding? The damage was already done and when his father passes on, he's gonna be stuck with his debt for the rest of his life. I was too nice in this kind of situation, so I need to wrap this up, leave, and get him and his father out of here, but then suddenly, I saw (Y/N) almost fall over.

Zoe-Are you alright?

(Y/N) only nodded his head, but I did not by that for a second, so I walked over him and judging on his food situation... I had a feeling.

Zoe-(Y/N), when did you last eat?

(Y/N)-Um... L-L-Last n-night.

Zoe-What did you have?

(Y/N)-... Garlic bread...

Zoe-That sounds good. Anything else?

I tried to make it sound ok, so he doesn't try to lie then he shook his head no to me and I felt disgusted in. Not only was he leaving his son in here with nothing to really do, but he also wasn't feeding him enough. How is he not getting food stamps at least because we do not take them here. I pried into this a little more and he said that his daddy got in trouble for lying to people about food stuff and his grandpa told him that... I was done with this and gently took his hand to bring him to get something to eat. The guard let him go and I told him that I want security to find (D/N) (L/N) and notify him to see my assistant and I will be sending her a full report by email. I'm keeping CPS out of this for now to try and get a hold of his grandparents. We made it to my office, and I ordered some real food for him like a steak with potatoes. He enjoyed his food and even went wide eyed which made me laugh a little, but also my heart fluttered, like seeing a normal abused puppy finally getting treated with love and care. You just want to hold them, and the case was the same right now.

(Y/N)-Um... Th-Thank you M-Ms. Caine.

Zoe-Think nothing of it darling.

I sent a message to my assistant that I want the number to his grandparents then my attention turned back to the boy that was looking around my office in awe, but also, I saw his eyes were getting a little droopy.

Zoe-So, I bet your grandma and grandpa spoil you for being good.

(Y/N)-I... d-don't really see them. They live in a ho-home and c-c-can't really get me pr-presents.

Zoe-Well... What about Santa on Christmas?

(Y/N)-D-Daddy says, Santa is busy w-with other b-boys and g-g-girls and it's all about giving.

That was just a nice way of saying no presents or anything nice for him. Now that his grandparents were a bust, I tried to see if he has aunts or uncles and I kept on hearing more stories about being extremely poor to where they can barely care for themselves or more family members in debt. This just kept on getting worse and he didn't deserve any of this. I changed the subject to something less gloomy or something less gloomy which was harder than I thought, but then his eyes closed for a moment.

(Y/N)-*Yawn*.

Zoe-You tired?

(Y/N)-... A little.

He was lying, he was exhausted. He didn't have bags under his eyes, but maybe he wasn't used to having a full belly and those potatoes made him sleepy. He tried to stay awake but fell asleep on the couch I have in here. I was amazed because he was out cold in only 10 minutes, so I got a fur coat I had to give it to him as a blanket and his tiny 3ft 2in body was completely covered. I was 6ft 7in and his size only shows how much nutrients he lacked to grow bigger, and he can barely make it to my hips. I could hear his tiny snores and it reminded me about my daughters when they were little. He looked weak, vulnerable, needed to be protected and cared for like any other child and his family has clearly failed him.

Zoe-Awww... Poor baby. ~ *whisper*

I stroked his head in his sleep and his body reacted by sinking his head into the couch cushions and taking a deep breath while looking so peaceful.

Zoe's mind-How cute! ~

I remember before my husband died, we wanted another child, but I had a condition where I could not have another child and it broke our hearts even our daughters when we got their hopes up about another sibling.

Zoe-...

(Timeskip 30 Minutes)

((D/N)'s POV)

I was talking this receptionist guy or whatever his position his when I found out the owner of this place took my son out of the Kid Zone with neither my knowledge nor consents about anything. I got him to call her, and she said she was on her way with my son, and he was sleeping after she fed him which was embarrassing that she got involved. When the door opened, I saw her carrying my son in her arms before she gave him to me.

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Ms. Caine-Sorry to worry you. It just looked like he was really hungry. I guess he didn't have a big breakfast or lunch today.

(D/N)-Yeah, we might be a... little tight on cash. You know how it is.

Ms. Caine-Of course. I'm sure he's ready to go home and get in bed.

I told her to have a good day before I was about to leave for the day with me son and i saw her smiling at me and my boy and I think I knew what that meant. When I got to the car and started to drive him, I started to drive him.

(D/N)'s mind-Looks like I got an admirer. She might even be a sugar mama. ~

(No POV)

Meanwhile at the casino Zoe was having some people get things for a big day tomorrow and she was telling her daughters the great news... They were getting a human little brother and even sent them a picture and they flooded her phone with texts and emojis about calling him cute and couldn't wait to meet him.

(Timeskip Tomorrow Morning)

((D/N)'s POV)

Yesterday was a bumpy road at the casino and I lost big and added another $75,000 to my debt, but today I feel like I can wipe that out and earn big. I think I found out how to count cards. Each set has four and if I can keep track, I can win every game. Maybe i'll even talk with Ms. Caine and see if she might want to go out on a date with me. I let my son sleep in while I was getting ready and took extra-long in the shower to scrape out what little shampoo we had left. Just as I was about to wake up my son and head down to the casino, I heard a knock on the door. When I answered the door I saw it was Ms. Caine and she had 2 huge and buff bear bodyguard men and another lady in a suit holding papers.

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Ms. Caine-Good morning Mr. (L/N).

(D/N)-Ms. Caine?... How did you know where I lived?

Ms. Caine-It was on your file. You signed up for loans when you were in debt. I'm here to discuss that very matter if we may come in.

(D/N)-Um... I made a small payment the other day.

Ms. Caine-Oh, no, no, no, we know that. This is great news... I have a deal for you that you will love to hear.

I invited them inside and the bear guys were so big that that had to duck under my door and turn sideways a little. I only made it to Ms. Caine's collar bone, but she only made it to their guy's chests. We sat in my living or at least I did because my place was kind of messy and... I wanted to get around to sanding and waxing the hardwood floors from the pieces I did not threw out yet. Even her lawyer decided to stand until the bodyguards left to get foldable chairs for them to sit on.

Ms. Caine-Lovely home, it's so... you.

(D/N)-Um, thanks... I was about to head over to the casino to talk, but it looks like you came here... I always loved lions and how they love to live together in whole prides.

Ms. Caine-... Huh?

(D/N)-You know almost like how lion prides work... in... the... wild... I'm sorry, was that racist?

Ms. Caine-Let's just get down to business.

(D/N)-R-Right.

Lawyer-Mr. (L/N), my name is Rachelle Calihan, and I am Ms. Caine personal assistant. It has come to our attention that your debt and interest rate is off the charts. You currently owe our casino a total of $438,748.32 and we will be asking for that in full 'now'. If not given or reaching an agreement, you will be banned from the casino, and we will be forced to take this matter to court.

(D/N)-Wh-What?! I don't have that kind of money!

Ms. Caine-Settle down. We're both adults here that just want things to work out, so everyone wins. You even get a bonus $60,000 for signing.

(D/N)-So like... I do jobs for you to work off the debt? That kind of thing?

Ms. Caine-Nope... I came up with something to forgive your debt complete and we just need our signatures on this paper. Just the very bottom line for you will suffice.

Just then they put a pen and paper on my table, and I was quick to sign it, but for some reason she was not putting her signature on.

Ms. Caine-Do you want to read it, first?

(D/N)-You said this forgives all my debt and gets me $60,000, right?

Rachelle-That is correct. However, there's one more paper we would like you to sign before Ms. Caine signs to forgive all your debt.

Ms. Caine-I'll put it to you in short... This paper we are going to give you is an adoption paper. If you sign (Y/N) over to me, i'll give you, my signatures.

I was shocked to hear what she just said. I didn't know what to say for a few moments and when I found the words as best as I could.

(D/N)-You... want my son? I just can't give him up for good.

Ms. Caine-Well that's why we have back up plans. If you cancel the first contract and meet the terms for cancelation, then you'll have your son back. I'm a reasonable woman, sir.

They put the adoption papers on the table for her to sign then she slid them over to me. All my debt from the casino will be gone if I do this... She says she's a reasonable woman and I can take this back anytime, so I did sign the papers and she clappers her hands a little while smiling before she got the other paper to forgive my debt.

Ms. Caine-I'm so glad we managed to clear this all up. I'll be taking my son now and we have things to do, and you'll see him at the casino, so this won't even be a goodbye. If you could kindly point me to his room.

(D/N)-It's... the door at the end of the hall. I'll go get him packed and-.

Ms. Caine-That won't be necessary. I'll get him myself. Rachelle, be a dear and go get those papers finalized, please.

Ms. Caine got up and from her chair to go get my son and I tried to follow her, but when she saw me, she snapped her fingers, and her bear guards stopped me.

Ms. Caine-You'll get your money by noon.

(Zoe's POV)

This house was falling apart and really disgusting, so he can consider using that money to help out around here. It was safe to assume that my baby has already earned a bath and when I saw the gross condition in the bathroom... He earned 3 baths when we get him home. I opened the door to his room and there were only cheap toys from fast food places, drawings, and broken crayons in here besides his bed and dresser, but it looked... fairly... somewhat... I can't even call this clean when I see dirt clinging to the walls to the point it looked stained.

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I gently took him out of bed, and he was stirring in my arms a little before he opened his eyes to see me.

(Y/N)-*Yawn*... Ms. Caine?

Zoe-Hi sweetie. We're gonna go somewhere and I got some amazing news for you. ~

I just gave his head a kiss as I carried him out of his room and when he woke up a little more, his cheeks were blushing really hard from me holding and kissing him. His father watched me leave the house and my guards followed me to the limo and opened the door for me to get in with my baby. He looked nervous now, so I scratched his head and since he was still half asleep, it was sort of calming him down.

(Y/N)-Wh-Where are we going? I-I w-w-want to go back inside!

Zoe-Awwww, don't be scared... My daughters are going to love you. ~