Still enjoying the time with his family,
the doorbell rang once.
Eric was the first to turn his head.
Neighborhood instincts.
"I'll get it," he said quickly, standing up.
Miguel frowned.
"At this hour?"
"Probably a neighbor," Eric replied. "I'll be right back."
He opened the door just enough.
Three men in dark jackets.
"Valerian?" the one in the middle asked.
Eric didn't answer immediately.
"Yes," he said evenly. "What do you need?"
The man pulled out a folded piece of paper.
"We're here about an outstanding debt."
"What debt?" Eric asked.
"The medical loan," the man said. "For the girl's treatment."
From inside the apartment, Elena's voice carried out.
"Eric? Who is it?"
Eric stepped forward into the hallway, gently closing the door behind him.
"Talk to me," he said quietly. "Not here."
One of the men let out a short laugh.
"That's what your father said last time."
Eric clenched his jaw.
"My sister has a heart condition," he said. "It's not fatal, but the treatment… the equipment… the consultations… they aren't cheap. We need time."
The man in the middle shrugged.
"Not our problem."
Eric took a slow breath.
"I'll take responsibility," he said. "Give me one week. I'll pay with interest."
The three exchanged looks.
"One week," the man repeated. "That's what you said a month ago."
"This time it's different," Eric said. "I swear."
Silence.
Then the man on the right stepped forward.
"And if we don't want to wait? Your little sister sounds like a decent bargaining chip."
Eric slowly raised his hands and swallowed his fury. He didn't want to alarm his parents, especially Susana, who was probably having the time of her life right now.
"There's no need for this."
"There's always a need," the man replied, shoving him in the chest.
Not hard.
Just enough to mark territory.
Eric glanced calmly at his apartment door.
Quiet inside. Susana was probably watching videos. His parents were in the kitchen.
They couldn't hear this.
"Last warning," Eric said with dangerous calm. "One week. I'll pay everything, double the interest. I don't want a scene."
Eric understood that anyone would lose patience collecting a nearly twenty-thousand-dollar debt that was months overdue.
And even though he hadn't known his parents had borrowed money from these men's boss, as a son, now that he could, he would naturally pay it. Interest included.
But the men didn't cooperate.
The man smiled…. and threw the first punch with a knowing grin.
As if they'd come already decided.
Only—
Eric moved far too fast to be normal.
He unbalanced him with a simple leverage move, using the man's own weight. The man dropped to his knees, air gone.
Eric wasn't the same anymore. After eating the fruit, his body had reshaped itself.
There was now an incredible strength packed into muscle and bone.
Another man reached into his pocket.
Mistake.
Eric grabbed his wrist, twisted just enough for pain to speak for him, and slammed him into the wall.
Everything was silent. Controlled. Precise.
In less than thirty seconds, all three were on the floor, groaning, disoriented, their dignity in pieces.
Eric crouched in front of the man in the middle.
"One week," he repeated. "Thirty thousand. Not a day later."
The man looked at him with genuine fear now.
"Who… who are you?"
Eric stood.
"The older brother."
He opened his apartment door and stepped inside without looking back.
"Who was that?" Elena asked from the kitchen.
Eric took off his jacket.
"A mistake," he said. "It's handled."
Miguel studied him a second longer than usual.
"You sure?"
Eric nodded.
"Yes."
From the bedroom, Susana shouted:
"BROTHER! LOOK AT THIS CAT!"
Eric smiled, already walking down the hall.
"Coming."
Susana's room felt like another dimension.
The glow of the screen lit her face with a level of focus no five-year-old should reasonably have.
She sat cross-legged on the bed, the new phone resting on her knees like a sacred artifact.
"Okay," she said very seriously. "Now tell me again."
Eric sat beside her, back against the wall.
"This is the home button. If anything breaks, you press it and pretend nothing happened."
"Like you do when you break things," she replied without looking up.
Eric laughed quietly.
"Exactly like me."
He showed her how to swipe, how to open an app, how to go back. Susana didn't just watch. She tried. Tapped. Made one mistake and never repeated it.
"How did you get that so fast?" Eric asked.
She shrugged.
"It's like a game," she said. "You just have to understand the rules."
Eric stared at her a second longer than necessary.
Susana gave him a smug look and opened her new mini laptop, pressing the power button with exaggerated care as it booted up.
"It's faster," she said. "The other one used to fall asleep."
"It didn't fall asleep," Eric corrected. "It suffered."
She laughed.
"Can I use it tomorrow?"
"You can use it whenever you want," Eric said.
He helped her set the wallpaper. A simple drawing.
They spent a while fiddling with the device.
"Eric."
"Yes, princess?"
"Thank you."
He smiled, ruffled her hair, and kissed the top of her head.
"Always."
The screen shut itself off.
The girl fell asleep without warning.
Eric stayed there a bit longer, listening to her steady breathing.
Then he tucked her in, pulled the blanket up, and turned off the lights.
Outside, his parents watched him with soft smiles.
"She couldn't handle that much happiness all at once," his mother said, amused.
Eric laughed too.
"She's a mess."