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Chapter Thirty-Eight: A Mother's Reckoning

Author: Rejoice Ezeh
last update Last Updated: 2025-07-30 12:40:29

Mary Hayes' POV

"Mom, I'm in trouble. The IRS thinks I was involved in Derek Thompson's financial crimes."

I held the phone to my ear with trembling hands, listening to my son describe how his life was falling apart piece by piece. Landon's voice was hollow, defeated in a way I had never heard before, and I knew that my role in destroying his marriage had contributed to this nightmare.

"But you weren't involved, were you?" I asked, though I was terrified to hear the answer.

"No, but they've frozen all my money while they investigate. I'm about to lose my apartment, and I can't find work anywhere in hockey."

As Landon spoke, I looked around my own small apartment, seeing the stack of unpaid bills on my kitchen table and the eviction notice that had arrived yesterday. My son wasn't the only one facing financial ruin because of our association with Derek Thompson's criminal conspiracy.

"Landon, maybe this is a sign that you need to leave hockey behind and start over somewhere else," I sa
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  • Too Late To Regret, My Hockey Star Ex-Husband   Chapter 59: The Crumbling Kingdom

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  • Too Late To Regret, My Hockey Star Ex-Husband   Chapter 58: The Price of Prejudice

    Mary Hayes' POVThe sound of my front door splintering open at six in the morning was like a gunshot through my already fragile world. I jolted awake on the couch where I'd been sleeping fitfully, surrounded by empty wine bottles and unpaid bills that had been my only companions for weeks."Federal agents! Search warrant!"My heart hammered against my ribs as armed men in bulletproof vests flooded into my small apartment. The humiliation was immediate and crushing – they could see the squalor I'd been living in, the evidence of how far I'd fallen from the proud, working mother who had once believed she knew what was best for her son."Mary Hayes, you're under arrest for conspiracy to commit fraud, obstruction of justice, and racketeering," the lead agent announced, his voice clinical and impersonal as he approached me with handcuffs."I cooperated with you people," I said desperately, my voice cracking with panic and shame. "I told you everything about Derek Thompson, about Rose Mille

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  • Too Late To Regret, My Hockey Star Ex-Husband   Chapter Fifty-Five: Redemption's Price

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