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013 Going Through The Motions

Author: Olivia GW
last update Huling Na-update: 2025-09-25 18:43:57

(Maya)

I wake knowing the world will move the same way it did the last time. That knowledge is a weapon now, not a chain.

His scent is still on the pillow. He was here. He stayed.

It tells me the sequence will follow, that the morning will run like a film and I can edit the cuts.

Lucy isn’t in the house. I arranged that yesterday and it steadies me more than I expected. Lucy being safe means I can move without worrying that somehow, Jade will still get her somehow.

It means I can be ruthless and all I have to worry about is getting myself away and back to Lucy. Then I’ll go somewhere and hide with her for as long as it takes.

I will help Owen. I wouldn’t let him die. Not like his mother let my daughter die. Not like her own father didn’t care enough about her to double-check. To visit her and be with her during her recovery.

This time will be very, very different.

I dress slowly.

There’s tenderness in the bruises on my ribs, in the ache that curls after Cole came to own me this mornin
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  • Betrayed, Broken, Back for Revenge   085 Too Close

    (Maya)Jade’s smile makes me go cold all over.I go into the room. Keaton stays in the corridor.Cole looks up from Lucy’s bed a second later, eyes widening.“Maya,” he says, and there’s relief in it, but it doesn’t touch me.My eyes stay on Jade.She’s seated too close to the bed. Too close to Lucy. Close enough to touch the blanket, close enough to touch my daughter.“Get out,” I say.Cole stares at me. “Maya. It’s okay, really.”“No,” I cut in, my voice low and hard. I don’t look away from Jade. “Get out of the room. Now.”Jade’s brows lift a fraction. Calm. Polite. Practiced.“I’m here for Lucy,” she says softly, as if she’s the only one in the room who cares.“You’re here for yourself,” I reply. “Leave.”Cole stands up fast, hand hovering over Lucy’s bed as if he can keep everyone calm by force.“Maya, listen to me,” he says. “You were dragged off. What choice did I have?”My stomach tightens.He keeps talking, voice controlled but urgent. “I need to get back to Owen. They’re pre

  • Betrayed, Broken, Back for Revenge   084 The Cavalry Arrives

    (Maya)They haven’t taken me back to the hospital.I’m still sitting in this room while they do whatever it is they are doing.I hear voices. Sounds like an argument. Suddenly the door opens.Keaton Vale walks in.For a second my lungs almost stop working. Relief hits hard enough to make my eyes sting.He looks at me. A quick scan—wrists, face, posture—then his gaze locks on mine.“Are you hurt?” he asks.“No,” I say. My voice is rough. “They told me I was free. But they haven’t let me go back to Lucy yet.”The woman from earlier stands near the door with a folder. Two men in suits hover behind her, arms folded, faces set.“Is she under arrest?” Keaton asks the woman who questioned me. “No. She is here because she had information we needed to understand,” the woman says.“Then she’s leaving,” Keaton replies.She lifts her folder slightly. “Mr. Vale, your client contacted a secure channel. We needed to close out the interview according to protocol.”Keaton keeps his voice even. “You c

  • Betrayed, Broken, Back for Revenge   083 For What She’s Done In This Life

    (Maya)For one second, relief hits so hard I almost cry.He’s here. He’s alive. I did it.I step back from him. “Rhett—”His eyes lock on me. No warmth. No relief. No softness.Just anger held tight. “Don’t,” he says.“I was so scared you were dead.”“Right now, I’d prefer to be.”“Don’t say that. Tessa needs you.”“Yes, she does. And I went and left her when she needed me because of you.”“I… I’m sorry that happened… I never meant it to.”“No, you never do. You never mean to rain shit down on my life, but I still seem to take the hit anyway.”“I saved you,” I say. “I had to.”“You got me fired,” he repeats, flat. “The one thing I had left and now you’ve taken that away too.”“Rhett, why, why would they do that to you?” I don’t understand why they’d fire him.“I’m off the team,” he says. “I’m a security risk.”“But I told them you never told me anything.”“They pulled me. Said I’m compromised. Now they tell me your nightmares are a security breach. What a load of absolute bullshit.”M

  • Betrayed, Broken, Back for Revenge   082 Secure Room

    (Maya)I don’t even know where they drive me. The windows are darkened and I can’t see anything outside.Now they lead me into a room, hands cuffed behind my back like some murderous criminal.A table. Two chairs. Camera in the corner. No window. No clock.They sit me down.A woman comes in last. Plain clothes. Clean posture. Calm face.She takes the chair across from me and sets a folder on the table.“Mrs. Vance,” she says. “May I call you Maya?““I much prefer it if you did. Can I get my hands free?”“Not yet. You contacted a secure channel.”“Cole Vance put me through. I didn’t know what number he called. I asked him to get me someone I could give information to.” I hold her gaze.“You used classified identifiers tied to an active operation,” she replies. “You used a code name and a location marker.”“I repeated what I heard.”“From whom,” she says.“I can’t tell you.”She pauses, “that is the wrong answer. We can keep you detained indefinitely until we get what we need. Or we can

  • Betrayed, Broken, Back for Revenge   081 Taken Away

    (Maya)Lucy is in pre-op.She’s in the narrow hospital bed with the rails up, IV taped down, monitors blinking steadily. Her droopy eyes keep finding mine. Every time I move, she tracks me. Then they close fully.I stay right where I am. Hand on the rail. Body between her and the room.The anesthesiologist checks the chart. A nurse adjusts the line. No one rushes me. No one touches her yet.I keep waiting for someone to tell me this is officially starting. But I keep holding out for for one more minute.Then two men in suits are hovering outside. They are looking through the door glass at me.They don’t look at Lucy.They look at me.One side of the doors open and one man sticks his head in.“Mrs. Vance,” one of them says. “You need to come with us.”“No,” I say immediately. “My daughter is going into theatre. Who are you?”“You’re required elsewhere,” he replies.Dr. Nguyen turns slightly, professional, cautious. “This is pediatric pre-op.”The man flashes an ID. “Federal protective

  • Betrayed, Broken, Back for Revenge   080 See You At Home

    (Maya)“Mrs. Vance,” the doctor says. “We are prepared to proceed today. We need consent forms signed.”The words hit hard. Today.The clipboard stays in his hand.I don’t reach for it.“But the committee already approved Lucy as a donor,” I say. “They cleared her. Why do we need to sign?”The hematologist nods. “They cleared her medically.”Dr. Nguyen steps in, calm and precise. “The committee decides eligibility. That doesn’t replace consent.”The hematologist adds, “nothing proceeds without parental consent.”“So even with approval,” I say, “this stops with me.”“Yes,” Dr. Nguyen says. “It stops with you. Mr Vance has already signed.”“And if you don’t consent,” the hematologist continues, “it goes to court. We don’t believe Owen will survive that delay.”I look at Owen.Asleep. Pale. Failing.Lucy is in my arms. Warm. Real.Cole stands near the door. Watching me. Waiting.Jade stands at the foot of Owen’s bed, hands folded, face soft. Great acting as usual.Cole’s voice is sharp.

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