Ever since the day when Esteban strode onto Gerry Quinn’s dilapidated car lot, things had never been the same. A car salesman past his prime, Gerry was sinking under the weight of loan shark debts and desperate deals. Esteban’s arrival in the setting sun of that forgotten Tuesday had seemed like the reprieve he so desperately needed.

Esteban had his sights set on the worn, silver Cadillac in the corner of the lot – a car that seemed as out of place as the man himself. He was immaculately dressed, his suit an inkier black than the encroaching twilight, his eyes inscrutable obsidian.

“I’m interested in your Cadillac,” Esteban had said, his voice smooth and assuring, reminiscent of the rustle of expensive silk.

Gerry, seeing the perfect opportunity, had tried his best to close the sale. But Esteban seemed more interested in him than the car.

“An old beast like that? You’ve got taste,” Gerry had laughed nervously, trying to seal the deal. “We could arrange a payment plan…”

Esteban interrupted, “Actually, I was thinking of a different sort of arrangement.”

Esteban had tilted his head, his gaze holding Gerry captive. The look of curiosity in his eyes morphed into something darker, inscrutable.

“What if I could offer you more than just the price for this Cadillac, Gerry?” He began, leaning against the old car’s weathered frame, his fingers tracing the rusted edges. “A chance at a life you’ve only dreamed of.”

Gerry had hesitated an anxious bead of sweat trickling down the side of his face. Yet, the desperation gnawing at him was more potent than any sense of fear. A debt that needed repaying and a life that had been relentlessly unforgiving, he was cornered.

“Do we… do we have a deal?” He had asked.

A moment of silence hung between them before Esteban extended a hand, “Yes, Gerry. We have a deal.”

From the moment that handshake sealed their pact, Gerry’s life took a rapid shift. The shoddy lot that once held cars of another era was now lined with gleaming, top-of-the-line vehicles that attracted high-profile clients from across the city. Gerry wasn’t just a used car salesman anymore. He was the dealer for the elite, his name synonymous with luxury and high taste.

His newfound wealth granted him access to circles he’d only ever observed from afar. The posh penthouse with a view of the entire city became his abode. He dressed in designer suits and dined at exclusive restaurants where the rich and powerful gathered.

But as Gerry ascended the ladder of wealth and power, his character began to decay. He developed a taste for extravagance that couldn’t be satiated, a thirst for dominance over those he deemed beneath him. His days were filled with ostentatious displays of wealth, while his nights were lost in the debauchery of high society.

Years passed, and Gerry reveled in his affluent lifestyle, becoming crueler, and more heartless with each passing day. His once humble roots were forgotten, he was a king in his glass castle.

The day Esteban returned to collect, his downfall wasn’t immediate. It started with a series of unfortunate events. A few deals turned sour, causing him to lose some clients. Then his top-selling cars began experiencing inexplicable malfunctions, leading to lawsuits that sucked him deeper into the abyss.

His penthouse was the first to go, followed by his prized possessions. His reputation, once the talk of the city, was tarnished, leaving him alone and shunned by the high society he had once been a part of.

By the time Esteban finally paid Gerry a visit, the latter was only a shell of the man he used to be. The mirrors in his empty mansion, once reflecting a proud and wealthy man, now only showcased a pitiful reflection of fallen grandeur.

Esteban, in his sleek suit, seemed untouched by time. The Cadillac purred like a feral creature beneath him as he turned to Gerry one last time. “I’ve come to collect, Gerry.”

As Esteban drove away, he left in his wake a man defeated and broken, a man who had tasted the heights of society and the crushing fall from grace, all because of one ill-fated deal on a rundown car lot.