[interesting]

The shock of seeing Samson at their room door did not subside as Justine spoke up, baffled.

"What are you doing here?"

Her first instinct was to push Tina out of the way to protect her, exposing herself in the process (not that she cared). She gave Samson an eyeful of her naked flesh and he took it, smirking.

"Tina, aren't you going to introduce me to your mother?"

Justine's voice sounded shrill to her daughter's ear.

"Who is this, Tina?"

Tina's eyes had filled with tears. She couldn't answer. She had been just about to come clean about everything when her tormentor had popped up.

"I'll tell you who I am, miss Flack..."
"Brant."
"Come again."
"I go by by maiden name..."

Why Justine had corrected Samson did not make sense. It had just seemed like the thing to do.

"Miss Brant, my name is Samson, and I'm the guy your daughter owes money to."
"Owed!" Tina managed to spit out. "I paid you."
"Paid you for what?" Justine inquired.
"Drugs."

Somehow, none of it surprised Justine. She wasn't even disappointed. On some level, she had known. She had simply refused to acknowledge it.

"And our business deal is far from over, Tina..."

Samson's voice was menacing. In the other room, Justine realized there was at least one other presence, keeping out of sight for the moment, surely an ally of this Samson.

"...Tina, did you pay the man what you owed?"
"I did! I owed four thousand dollars and I paid it!"

Elements of past weeks were coming into light for Justine. She should have been furious, but her daughter could do no wrong.

"Do you know what your daughter did to pay her debt, miss Brant?"

There was a moment of silence. Justine's answer surprised everyone else.

"Yes."

Tina was floored. How could her mother know what she had done? Was she bluffing? Samson was having the same reaction.

"...forget her," Tina added. "Look at me."

Indeed, it was hard not to, with her exquisite body on display.

"Leave my daughter out of this... from now on, you deal with me."
"Mom!"
"Shush."

There was no arguing with her, Tina suddenly realized. Her mother was much more powerful than she had ever imagined, confident and brazen, almost violent in her approach.

"Good... I can work with that," Samson sneered.
"So I ask again... what do you want, mister Samson?"

The question hung in the air for a moment, as Samson considered his next words.