Karen is pitted against a shark
KAREN’S DEBTS PUT THEM IN A DESPERATE SITUATION…
The Taylor family are on the brink of losing everything this week – as Lloyd the loan shark turns up at their home to collect what he’s owed.
Karen has been stalling her scary creditors for ages, trying to find some money to start paying them back. Sadly for her family, there appears to be no way out of her spiralling debts, and any cash they have is just a drop in the ocean. With nothing to give Lloyd and everything to lose, Karen faces her darkest hour yet.
“She finds out that Riley and Chatham have been collected from school by a strange man,” shares our Eastenders source. “Karen’s heart stops because she knows that this must have something to do with the money she owes. Sure enough, Lloyd the loan shark is waiting for her at home with the boys. He hasn’t hurt them, but it’s a deeply sinister move. Karen is left in no doubt that she and her family are in danger.”
Worse still, Lloyd tells Karen that the amount she needs to pay back has gone up. He’s charging her interest, and the debt is getting larger every passing day. The only option Karen has is to go to the Vic and attempt to sell her belongings to raise the money. It’s a humiliating ordeal, but what choice does she have?
Unfortunately for Karen, her efforts are in vain, so the next day she decides to try a different tactic. Moving her children out of the house and to safety, she gets ready to deal with Lloyd
herself and to try to appeal to his better nature. What she doesn’t bank on is just how far this wicked money lender is willing to go. As the brave Taylor squares up to Lloyd, he enjoys being able to crush her – and when Keanu returns home, he finds a devastating situation waiting.
“Lloyd has taken the television – and something else that is going to hurt the family deeply,” our snitch tells us. “What he’s done is designed to hit the children hard, and it’s going to make Karen feel under even more pressure. The heat is on, and she has to cook up a get-richquick scheme fast. But what are her options?”
Watching this horrible situation unfold is hard for Karen’s close friends and neighbours, especially Linda, who really feels for the embattled mum. She begs Mick to step in and help out the Taylors – though with their own cash problems, it’s unrealistic. Can Karen manage to find the money, or will the poor kids’ hearts be broken?