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CHAPTER 85 — “Going On Record”
Last Updated:
2026-01-24 18:51:28
Latest chapter
The Man I Was Meant to Hate CHAPTER 88 — “False Hands”
Liam's POVThe letter never touched Ava again.I slipped it into a clear evidence sleeve and sealed it, slow and careful, like it might bite if handled wrong. Ava watched me do it without speaking. Her face was calm now, but it was the kind of calm that comes after something breaks and settles into a sharper shape.“I’ll be back before evening,” I told her.Then she nodded. “Don’t protect me by lying.”That landed harder than she meant it to. “I won’t,” I said. And meant: I’ll try.….….The first rule of dirty systems is this: they never move alone.Letters don’t just appear. Voices don’t just get edited. Fear doesn’t just find the right door without help. Someone always opens it.I started with the paper. Not the words. The material.The sleeve crinkled softly as I laid it flat under the scanner. Weight, texture, fibre blend. The watermark didn’t match any domestic supplier. Not a prison issue. Not corporate stationery either.“European,” I said.I pulled up a database I wasn’t suppo
The Man I Was Meant to Hate CHAPTER 87 — “The Brother She Lost”
Ava's POV I don’t sleep. I just lie on the bed and watch the ceiling change colour as the night moves on. Grey to darker grey. The hum of the city never fully stops. Somewhere, a siren rises and fades. Somewhere else, a door slams. Life keeps happening as if nothing has cracked open.Liam sleeps on the chair by the window. Not properly. One arm folded across his chest, head tipped forward, like he’s ready to wake the second I move. He said he’d stay. I didn’t argue.Tomorrow is the hearing. A sealed one. Another room I won’t be allowed into. Another decision was made without me.Ethan’s voice keeps looping in my head. The notebook. The hinge squeaked.I press my palms over my eyes.For years, I told myself he was just someone who passed through my life. Someone helpful. Someone kind. Someone I lost because the world is careless.That lie was easier. The truth is heavier.He was family.Not by blood. By choice. By the quiet way he stayed when everyone else left.I sit up before the th
The Man I Was Meant to Hate CHAPTER 86 — “My Mother’s Shadow”
Ava's POVThe letter arrives by email in the morning after the sound file. Not through email. Not through the courier. But through the post.Real paper. Thick. Cream-coloured. My name was written in careful ink, like each letter had been practised before it touched the page. I stare at it for a long time before I can pick it up.Liam stands across the kitchen, mug in his hands, watching me without pretending he isn’t.“You’re shaking,” he says.“I know.”The return address is a prison. Women’s facility. North wing.My chest tightens. My mother. She hasn’t written to me in seven years. Not after the trial. Not after the sentencing. Not after the appeal failed and the world moved on without her. Not even when Ethan disappeared.Then I slide my finger under the seal. It tears too easily. Like it wants to be opened.There is one sheet of paper Inside. The paper was folded once. No extra pages. No photos. Just words.Ava,I wondered how long it would take before you heard my voice again.
The Man I Was Meant to Hate CHAPTER 85 — “Going On Record”
Ava's POV The studio smells like old coffee and fresh paint. I notice that first because I’m still learning how to calm my body. It looks for small things. Safe things. Ordinary details that tell me I am not in a courtroom, not in a sealed room with men who never blink.Just a studio. Grey walls. One table. Two chairs. And a choice.Liam sits a few feet away, not beside me. That was my decision. If I look at him too much, I might soften. And today is not for soft.The reporter enters gently. No camera crew. No lights yet. Just a notebook and a recorder placed gently on the table, like a question waiting to breathe.Thank you for agreeing to this, she says with her voice calm. Clear. Not hungry.I didn’t agree to everything, I reply. “Only what I choose.”She nods. “Of course.”That matters more than she knows.Then we sit beside each other. She doesn’t start recording right away. Instead, she asks if I want water. Suppose the chair is comfortable for me. If I need a moment.I almost
The Man I Was Meant to Hate CHAPTER 84 — “What Protection Costs”
Liam's POVProtection, it turns out, is just another control word.I learned that before noon. They didn’t call. Didn’t knock like last time. They just sent a black car.Quiet. Windows too dark for a city that pretends it has nothing to hide.Ava was still upstairs, shower running, steam fogging the windows. I watched the car from the kitchen, my heart slow but heavy, the way it gets when you already know the ending and still walk into the scene. Then I stepped outside before they could come in.The driver didn’t speak. He just opened the back door.I recognised a man sitting inside without needing to know his name. Same calm face I’d seen in hearings. Same voice from recordings that never made it to court. He looked like order. Like safety. Like the sort of man people trust because he never raises his tone.Liam Carter, he said. “Thank you for coming down.”I didn’t, I replied. “You came up.”A flicker of a smile. Practised. Fair. I stayed standing. He stayed seated. It was deliberat
The Man I Was Meant to Hate CHAPTER 83 — “The Hidden Trial”
Ava's POVLiam’s yes still echoed in my chest when everything shifted. Not loudly. Not dramatically. It was the quiet kind of shift. The kind that happens when the ground beneath you decides it was never solid to begin with.Rylan left an hour later, promising updates, promising caution, promising nothing would move without us knowing. I believed he meant it. I also knew belief did not equal safety anymore.Liam made tea again. Strong this time. British, he said, like it was armour. We sat at the small kitchen table, knees brushing, steam curling between us. For a moment, we were just two people breathing in the same space.Then my phone vibrated.Once.I didn’t look at it right away. I knew that was fear. I let it be there, resting under my palm, buzzing again like it was impatient.Liam noticed. He always did.“Do you want me to—” he started.“No,” I said softly. “I’ve got it.”I picked up the phone.It wasn’t a message. It was a secure alert. One I hadn’t seen since the first heari
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