“Everything to have you.”
12
Maya
Life as I know it is completely over.
Yesterday, I feared Graham wouldn’t let me leave the mansion. But when I completely lost my mind, cussing him out and screaming that I’d call the police, he opened the front door for me with a terrifying calmness.
And from that exact moment, I knew the trap had been sprung. Because a man like Graham doesn’t give in easily. When he wants something, he takes it without ever asking for permission, and he never,ever, lets it go.
Well, I’ve been “let go” from both my remaining jobs today.
They didn’t even bother to send me an email or call me first.
No.
I had to show up in my fucking uniform, ready to work, only to be told right then and there that there was no more work for me.
Graham is making sure I won’t have anywhere left to turn but him. He took my sister away first.
Granted, maybe Valeria needed some actual professional help with her mental health, but a fucking psychiatric institution?
Graham didn’t do that out of a single ounce of goodness in his black heart.
He wanted to leave me stranded with absolutely no one.
Broke.
Homeless.
He played this entire sick game perfectly so I’d have nothing left in this world but him.
So I’d crawl back to him on my knees. Well, I hope the bastard doesn’t hold his fucking breath. I would rather beg for scraps on the street than go back to him. Not because I’m not attracted to him. Or because I’m not drawn to him. It’s because I refuse to give in to those feelings when a psychopath is involved.
I know I should be focusing more on Valeria, but I can’t save her if I’m drowning myself. Once I finally manage to get my head above water, I’m not going to leave her. But right now, I am going under.
I grab my phone and dial William—my childhood friend, the only person I have left, the one who scrambled to get me that office cleaning job in the first place.
We’ve had each other’s backs since we were kids. The moment I hear his familiar voice, the dam breaks. I start crying hysterically as I use my free hand to stuff my meager belongings into my bag.
There aren’t many things to pack anyway.
Without a single cent of incoming money, I can’t afford to stay in this motel for another night.
"Hey, hey—Maya, breathe. Just breathe for me," William commands. "We will figure this out, I promise."
I collapse back onto the sagging mattress.
"The cleaning job... they fired me, William. The restaurant too. Everything is gone. Why the fuck is this happening to me?"
I can hear him pacing on the other end of the line.
"Maya... listen to me. Word around the office is that some heavy-looking men called the higher-ups and threatened them. It was too much of a hassle for them, so they decided to let you go immediately."
He pauses.
"Maya, do you have any fucking idea who could do something like that?"
