At the Pierce estate, Ethan poured me a glass of wine, his voice laced with false affection. “Vivian, I didn’t expect you to come to me. I knew you still cared.”
Sylvia, sitting beside me, scoffed. I ignored him,
my gaze fixed on the locked second floor.
“Where’s Maya?”
“She’s unwell,” Ethan lied smoothly. “Not up to
seeing visitors.”
“Drop the act,” I said, my voice sharp. “I’m
here to take her home.”
Ethan’s eyes narrowed. The throbbing in my
head intensified.
I slammed a stack of documents on the table.
“Evidence of your illegal business dealings.”
Another stack. “Your company’s financial
12:50
<
100
records. Tax evasion. Quite impressive.”
Another. “Proof of Maya’s ownership stake in
the Hughes Corporation.” Another. “The missing
transfer agreement for the Hughes‘ assets.
Without it, Maya is still the head of her family.”
Finally, one last stack. “Maya’s complete
medical history, confirming her perfect physical
and mental health. Your fabricated diagnosis
won’t hold up against this. Surprised? Her
family doctor uploaded these records every
year.”
Sylvia calmly placed a USB drive on the table.
“Evidence of your conspiracy to kidnap Maya.
Photos, recordings, bank transfers. The works.”
With each item, Ethan’s face grew paler. He
stared at the evidence, his voice rising in a
desperate denial. “This is fake! Forged!”
“You know it’s real.” I tapped the table,
ignoring the escalating pain in my skull. “And
now
shared a video
you know who gathered all of this, don’t you? The person you’ve been searching for all these years?”
His expression shifted, then he seemed to regain his composure, chuckling. “So what? My company is Maya’s company. She’s willing to take the fall for me. Are you going to send her to jail? And our… past… it wasn’t perfect, but we’re happy now. As long as Maya doesn’t mind, none of this matters. The police don’t interfere in domestic disputes. She needs me. She loves me, more than you think.” He clapped his hands. “Bring Mrs. Pierce down.”
The door opened, and Maya, in a white dress, descended the stairs. She looked at Sylvia and
me, her lifeless eyes flickering with a brief
spark of recognition before returning to their
usual dullness.
“Ethan?” she whispered.
“Moun darling wolun aloared in our littl
<
“Maya, darling, we’ve cleared up our little
misunderstanding,” Ethan said, his arm around
her waist, his voice a sickly sweet whisper.
“Let’s not bother with these… unstable…
outsiders. It’s just us three now. Let’s have
another baby, a little girl this time, what do you
say?”
Maya, still dazed, looked at Ethan with a blissful
smile.
Insane.
They’re insane.
I’m not crazy, they are! They’re all crazy!
The world spun. Nausea rose in my throat,
threatening to overwhelm me. My vision blurred,
turning red. I pressed my hands against my
ears, trying to block out the cacophony of
sounds, until a warm hand covered mine.
“Vivian.”
“You’re not crazy.” It was Sylvia.
“I’m here.”
She let go of my hand, pulled a letter from my
pocket, and tore it open.
“My dearest Maya,
If you’re reading this, I’m long gone. What season is it there? If it’s winter, bundle up. You always hated being cold. You used to complain about looking like a snowball with all the layers,
but to me, you were always my precious little
snowball, no matter what.
I both hope and dread that you’ll read this.
Because, my Maya, if you’re here alone, it
means you’re hurting, facing the very things I
feared… missing me.
<
I miss you, too.
Perhaps it’s because I’m old, nearing the end,
but I’ve finally had a few days of clarity. Maya,
do you know, every day, I’ve been atoning.
For years, I felt… lost. When you were little, I
didn’t teach you how to protect yourself, how
to be wary. As you grew, I didn’t teach you how
to be strong, how to choose your own path.
And then, I grew impatient, wanting you to take
over the company… I was punished.
I believe it was punishment, Maya.
There’s a… force… that wanted you to be
naive, helpless. It trapped me, too, with its
expectations of a ‘good wife and mother.‘ I was
a puppet. The more I resisted, the less control I
had. I’d forget things, lose track of my
thoughts. That was my punishment.
Your parents died the day after I brought you to
Every day, I’ve lived with regret, with fear. I
caused the death of my own daughter and son-
in–law. Was I going to lose you, too?
I wanted to scream at the heavens, why? Why
my Maya?
The day you brought Ethan to meet me, I
realized, with horror, that he might be the
‘chosen one.‘ He wasn’t a good man. I tried to
send him away, to protect you… and I lost
myself again.
