Chapter 5
Anger surged through Sebastian, hot and fierce. He grabbed Maxine’s chin, eyes blazing with a brewing storm. “What’s your problem? Brian’s fast a kid acting up. You’re his mom–gonna make a big deal outta this?
“And he already said sofry, didn’t he?”
So that was it. To him, Maxine’s near–death scare was something a quick “my bad” could just brush off.
Maxine had tried to prepare herself, but the sting in her eyes hit hard. Letting go of someone she’d loved for over ten years felt like tearing out her own heart–half her life gone in a snap.
But no matter how bad it hurt, she had to keep moving.
She was still young. She couldn’t let the rest of her days drown in this hopeless mess.
“Maybe I’m just a shitty mom,” Maxine said with a weak, bitter smile. “Besides, Kathleen’s got it all handled now, right?”
“Maxine!” Sebastian snapped, his voice a low growl.
Her heart jolted, but she didn’t flinch.
His face darkened, like ink spreading in water. He stared her down, cold and hard, before tossing out, “Don’t even think about bringing up divorce. That’s not your call.”
Then he stormed out, the door slamming shut behind him.
With Sebastian gone, Maxine let out a shaky breath and sank onto the bed, drained.
Then she glanced up at the doorway.
Brian stood there, meeting her eyes. He shuffled over, looking uneasy, his usual tough–guy face cracking just a bit.
He held up his hand, showing a bandaged cut on his middle finger–clean, no blood, already taken care of.
Maxine looked at him, waiting.
He hesitated, then muttered, “You really bailing?”
“Isn’t that what you want?” she shot back, soft but sharp.
That hit a nerve. Brian’s face flushed, anger and embarrassment mixing. “You think I give a crap if you stay? Go then! I ain’t going with you!”
He shouted it, voice raw, before tearing out of the room.
Maxine watched him go, letting out a soft sigh. Clearly, neither Brian nor his dad had given her divorce a second thought. They probably hadn’t even glanced at the papers.
She’d made it crystal clear: she was giving up custody.
But Maxine didn’t let herself dwell. She brushed it off and dug into the case files from Alton Legal Firm.
When she saw the deadline, something clicked/She grabbed a calendar and set it on her nightstand, circling August 25th in red and crossing out today’s date with a quick slash.
Twenty–nine days until she was gone.
10:43 Tue, 17 Jun GO
Chapter 5
Three days later, Maxine walked back into the law firm, ready to dive in.
She’d barely sat down when the managing partner called her into his office. That’s when he hit her with it: her “assault” case was being handed to
Kathleen.
“What the hell?” Maxine bluited, her voice sharp with disbelief. “I’ve been killing myself over this case from the start!”
When the case first landed at the firm, it was a total mess. The p
guy? ? A cocky rich kid who thought his family’s money made him untouchable.
He’d targeted a girl working at a bar, dragged her into a private
swinging.
and assaulted her. But that girl was tough–she lawyered up and came out
Maxine hated scumbags like him. She’d taken the case withoking.
It had been a grueling three months–sleepless nights, fighting tooth and nail against the guy’s family, who pulled every string to bury evidence and sabotage the hearings.
She’d poured her heart into it, and now, just when she could taste sweat, and tears.
No way in hell. She was ready to fight tooth and nail.
victory, they wanted her to hand it over. Let someone else take credit for her blood,
