A woman in a wheelchair sat in the living room. Thin. Pale. Maybe thirty years old but looking fifty. Her legs were covered with a blanket, but I could see they were wasted. Useless.

“Who are you?” She tried to wheel herself between me and Lily, protective even in her broken state. “What do you want?”

“Ma’am, my name is Thomas. I’m with the Iron Brotherhood MC. My brothers and I were riding by when we saw your daughter trying to sell her bicycle.”

The woman’s face crumpled. “Oh God. Lily, baby, I told you to stay inside.”

“But Mommy, I wanted to help. You said we don’t have money for school. I wanted to fix it.”

The mother started crying. Deep, broken sobs. Lily ran to her and climbed into her lap, hugging her neck.

“I’m sorry, Mommy. Please don’t cry. I’m sorry.”

I stood there watching this woman try to comfort her daughter while falling apart herself. Behind me, my brothers filed into the small living room. Four massive bikers taking up all the space.

“Ma’am,” I said quietly. “I don’t want to intrude. But I need to understand what’s happening here. Your daughter said you’re sick. That her father passed from the same illness. That you can’t afford her school.”

The woman wiped her eyes. “It’s multiple sclerosis. MS. I was diagnosed four years ago. My husband David was diagnosed three years before that. He fought it as long as he could, but…” She couldn’t finish.

“And now you have it too.”

She nodded. “I can’t work anymore. I had to quit my job eight months ago when my legs stopped working. Disability doesn’t cover much. David’s life insurance went to his medical bills. We have nothing.”

“What about family?”

“My parents are gone. David’s family… they blamed me for his illness. Said I gave it to him somehow. They haven’t spoken to us since he died.”

Marcus stepped forward. His voice was rough with emotion. “Ma’am, how much is the medication you need?”

She laughed bitterly. “More than I’ll ever have. The injectable medication is $2,000 a month. I’ve been off it for three months now. That’s why I’m getting worse so fast.”

“And kindergarten? How much is that?”

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