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Chapter 12— THE RECKONING
Last Updated:
2025-12-17 17:34:30
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WHICH MAN STAYS? Chapter 26— THE BARGAIN
MAYA'S POVThis room is too quiet. It’s the kind of quiet that presses on your eardrums. Leo’s action figure is under the coffee table, one arm bent back. He’ll want that when he gets back. Liam's mother’s tea mug is in the sink, the bag still in it. She always forgets to take it out. These little things are all I have right now. Proof they were here. Before he took them.Daniel took my son. He took his mother. He called it “having them over for a while.” He said it was for their safety, with all the “unpleasantness” happening. But we both knew what it was. A trade. My obedience for their comfort. My love for his brother made them targets.I almost called the police. My finger hovered over the screen. But what would I say? My husband, a powerful CEO, has taken our son to his secure, multi-million dollar home. His mother is with them. There’s no crime in that. Only a threat. A threat that lives in the calm tone of his voice, not in any law he’s broken. The burning in my chest isn’t fea
WHICH MAN STAYS? Chapter 25— THE PAWN
SASHA'S POV The phone felt like a block of ice in my hand. I stared at the screen, at the number Daniel had forced me to call. It wasn’t my number that showed on Liam’s phone. It was something else, scrambled, and the voice modulator app made my words sound like a machine’s. Cold. Empty.“Come to the waterfront warehouse. In two hours. Alone.”Daniel had written the script. I had recited it. Liam’s response had been quick, a sharp “Who is this?” followed by a strained silence when my robotic reply gave nothing away. Then he agreed. Of course he agreed. Since it involves the where about of love and Liam's mother.I put the phone down on the dusty concrete floor of the warehouse. Daniel’s men had set everything up hours ago. Small cameras were hidden in the corners, behind rusted metal girders, their tiny red lights like distant, watching eyes. This empty, echoing space was now a stage. I was the bait. Liam was the target. The whole world was about to become the audience.Daniel’s plan
WHICH MAN STAYS? Chapter 24— THE EMPTY HOUSE
LIAM'S POV My foot was heavy on the gas. The world outside the windshield was a blur of streetlights and shadows. Every stop sign was a personal insult.“Take the next right,” Maya said from the passenger seat. Her voice was calm, but her hands were clenched in her lap, her phone screen lit against her fingers. She’d been refreshing her messages every ten seconds.“I know the way,” I said, the words coming out sharper than I meant.“I know you do.”We lapsed back into silence. The only sounds were the engine and the frantic rush of my own thoughts. I’d put that camera in to keep them safe. A stupid, battery-powered piece of plastic. It was supposed to send an alert if something was wrong. It sent one. And it was wrong anyway.“She could have just gone to the store,” Maya said, not looking at me. “She might have taken Leo for ice cream. His tablet died. Her phone died. It happens.”“Her phone doesn’t die,” I said flatly. “She has three chargers. She’s neurotic about it.”“Maybe she fo
WHICH MAN STAYS? Chapter 23— THE PACT
MAYA'S POV The news anchor’s voice cut off as Liam hit the power button on the remote. The silence that followed was louder than the broadcast.“He didn’t just get a lawyer,” Liam said, his voice hollow. “He got an entire corporation.”I couldn’t speak. My mind was racing ahead, down every dark path. Daniel with a CEO’s salary. Daniel with a corporate security team. Daniel with a board of directors who would protect their investment at all costs. That investment was now him.“He’ll bury us,” I whispered. The words just came out. “He’ll have teams of people finding every mistake, every weak point. He’ll make sure the court only sees what he wants them to see.”I looked at Liam, really looked at him. He was pale, the weight of the last few weeks carved into new lines around his eyes. He’d almost gone to prison. He’d been framed, chased, and attacked. And for what? For me.A clean, terrible logic presented itself.“You should go,” I said.He blinked. “What?”“You should leave. Not from
WHICH MAN STAYS? Chapter 22— THE ULTIMATUM
MAYA'S POVThe front door opened and closed too softly. Liam walked into the kitchen where I was making Leo toast. I took one look at his face and my stomach dropped. It was pale, tight, like he’d seen something he couldn’t unsee.“What happened?” I asked, my voice low so Leo wouldn’t hear.He ran a hand over his face. “I went to see Sasha. To tell her to back off.”“And?”“And she tried to…force a situation. It doesn’t matter. What matters is Daniel showed up.”The butter knife slipped from my hand. “What?”“He was there. He walked in right in the middle of it. Said he’d gone to talk sense into her.” Liam’s eyes were hollow. “He saw enough to make it look like exactly what it wasn’t. Then he left. He was calm. Too calm.”Before I could process it, my phone rang. Daniel.I answered on speaker. “Daniel.”“Maya. I assume your bodyguard is back from his visit?” His voice was smooth, cold. “My nine AM deadline stands. Bring my son to my mother’s. Come home. This is your last chance to do
WHICH MAN STAYS? Chapter 21— THE RECKONING
LIAM'S POV I woke to empty space beside me. The sheets were cold. I could hear movement in the kitchen, the careful clink of a mug. Normal sounds, but the silence around them was all wrong.I found Maya by the sink. She was staring out the window, her back straight.“Morning,”I said.She didn’t turn.“Morning.”“You okay?”“Fine.”The word was a slab of concrete between us. I’d heard that tone before. It was the one she used with Daniel. My chest tightened. I moved to touch her shoulder. She shifted away, reaching for a dish towel.My phone was still on the dresser, dead. I plugged it in. As it powered up, a sick feeling started in my gut. The screen lit, and notifications cascaded—all from Sasha. The previews alone were enough.You can’t ignore this.A reminder of what you’re choosing over.I opened the thread. I saw the photo. My vision tunneled. This wasn’t just a message. It was a grenade rolled into the center of my life.I walked back into the kitchen, phone in hand. Maya finall
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