The threat

Maya’s POV

My entire life was currently a mess. I sat in the formal reception room at Carter’s mansion, my fingers tightly interlaced in my lap to keep them from visibly shaking.

Across from me sat my stepmother, Ashley, alongside my father, Richard.

Ashley had always terrified the crap out of me since I was a child. As a twenty-five-year-old adult, she still terrified me.

She turned electric blue eyes that were identical to Brooke's on me. “Let me give you this warning, Maya. The next time you touch a hair on my daughter or grandson’s head, you’ll lose your hand,” she said in the deadliest tone I had ever heard from her.

I didn’t even bother to defend myself. I had learned over the years that doing that was pointless.

“By the way, I have a small gift for you,” she sneered, scrolled through her phone, and showed me the screen.

I gasped aloud when I saw what she was showing me. It was a photo of my mother in her hospital room.

She looked so confused and helpless, and her face was red and swollen from crying, but that was not what hurt me the most.

What did was the fact that she was bleeding on her forearm and exposed lap … in the exact positions where Brooke had cut Leo and herself yesterday afternoon, but my mother’s cuts looked much deeper. They would clearly need stitches.

“Oh, my goodness! You evil woman! You didn’t!” I exclaimed, my heart shattering into pieces. My poor, poor mother.

“Didn’t what?” Ashley asked with fake innocence.

How did she have this much power to do something like this to my mother in a public space and face no repercussions?

 “What has that poor woman done to you? Why would you do this to her? Brooke cut herself and Leo. Why punish my mother for it?”

“Brooke wouldn’t have done that if you had removed yourself from the picture as we told you to, would she? Your mother cut herself, mind you, just as you’re claiming Brooke cut herself. Anyway, that’s not the reason we’re here. Richard, tell her.”

My father cleared his throat and spoke. “We brought you the divorce agreement. Our lawyer drew it up this morning. You’re going to sign those papers, and you’re going to get Carter to sign them too. Your work here is done.”

Ashley reached into her handbag, pulled out a blue folder, and slammed it on the table.

I swallowed the lump in my throat. For the first time in my entire life, I knew I would have to stand up to her. I forced myself to look her dead in the eye.

"I'm not going anywhere or signing anything, Ashley."

She and my father gasped as one. Her mouth opened and closed several times like that of a fish out of water. It would have been comical if it wasn’t for the seriousness of the situation.

"Excuse me?" she exclaimed.

"It’s ridiculous to expect me to pack up and walk away from my marriage simply because Brooke decided to show up after three years. I don’t want to do that."

She burst into mocking, cruel laughter. Then she leaned forward and focused on me like a lion on its prey. I fought the urge to shrink away.

"No one cares what you want, you stupid, useless piece of shit. If you were so interested in remaining in Carter’s life, you should have given him a child, not so? You had three whole years to do that, but you couldn't perform even that simple task.”

“I …”

A malicious glint entered her eyes. "You're barren, Maya … as barren as a desert. You’ve spent almost two years dragging yourself to fertility clinics, trying every treatment imaginable to get pregnant. The doctors confirmed what we all already knew, that the failure lies with you. A man in Carter's position needs an heir. Brooke gave him that. She’ll give him more children. He’ll always choose her over a useless, empty vessel like you."

For the first time in a long time, those words didn’t move me. Before now, I would have been so hurt hearing them.

Instead, a smile stretched across my lips, confusing Ashley.

“Did I crack a joke I wasn’t aware of?” she asked sarcastically.

I ignored the question. "What makes you think Carter would sign those papers? He’s never mentioned divorce to me."

“Oh, honey, trust me when I say he’ll gladly sign it. We spoke with him earlier today. He was completely receptive to the idea. In fact, he explicitly told us to have the agreement drawn up so we can get this whole mess sorted out quickly.”

I didn’t know whether to believe her or not.

“And if I refuse to divorce?" I asked.

My father spoke, his voice devoid of any warmth or paternal affection. "If you refuse, Maya, or if you cause any trouble for Brooke and Leo, I’ll personally sign the order to withdraw funding for your mother’s care at the Sanatorium."

I already knew this was what they would threaten me with. "You... you wouldn't."

"The current payment only covers her stay for the rest of this week. If you don’t do as we say, your mother will be out on the streets by Monday morning. She’ll be confused and unstable, with nowhere to go. I don’t need to tell you how fast she’ll wander off and never be seen again if that happens, and it’ll be your fault. One week, Maya. That's all you have. Also, she might ‘cut herself’ more often, and even more badly if you refuse to sign those papers."

I sighed in defeat as the first tear slipped from my eyes. Was I willing to risk my mother’s safety and cause her pain over a man who didn’t even act like he wanted me?

“Where would I go … if I leave here?” I asked quietly.

Ashley stood up, smoothing her skirt. Her face showed that she knew she had won. “When you leave here, you’ll go live in a studio apartment your father got for you. Think about your mother and her safety, Maya. You’re all she’s got," she finished, giving me one last condescending look.

Without another word, they turned and walked out of the house, leaving me sitting alone, staring down at the blue folder on the table.

My mother wasn’t safe any longer. It was my responsibility to protect her, no matter how much it hurt me.