Chapter 21: A Truce

Alex lifted his head from the steering wheel when he heard his phone ring. He pulled it out of his pocket and answered without checking the caller ID, muttering, "Alexander."

A familiar voice replied, one he hadn’t heard in only an hour, "Hello, my dear."

Alex clenched his teeth, "What now?"

Madoff responded calmly, "Relax. I called to thank you for not trying to play the hero and getting in my way."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that you didn't prevent the envelope from reaching Maya. One of my men just informed me that she received it."

Alex was silent for a moment before saying, "Madoff."

"Yes?"

"I want to make a deal with you," Alex said firmly.

"I'm listening," Madoff replied.

Alex spoke with determination, "I'll stop Maya. I'll make sure she stops digging into your business. I'll ensure she forgets about you and stops pursuing you, in exchange for your promise to leave her alone, to not harm her in any way, and to stop sending those photos."

Madoff replied simply, "I'll hold up my end if you hold up yours. Deal." He then ended the call without another word.

Alex lowered the phone from his ear and glanced at his watch. It was six in the evening. He wouldn’t go to her now; he wanted her to process the shock and pain alone, to realize the gravity of what she had done, hoping it would lead her to the right path.

He then unlocked his phone, pressed a few buttons, and brought it to his ear, saying, "Hello."

Krik answered, "Hello, Chief."

"Where are you?"

"At the hospital with Bob."

"How is he?"

"He's fine, but he's angry at you for not visiting him."

"I'll come by in a few hours. He’ll have to wait. Are you alone?"

Krik replied, puzzled, "Yes, Bernard just left. Why do you ask?"

Alex answered seriously, "I don't want Bob left alone, so stay with him until Bernard or I get there. I'm worried they might come back."

Krik exclaimed, "Oh, don't worry, I won't leave him."

Alex asked, "Do you still have the number of your friend who rents out bodyguards?"

Krik replied hesitantly, "Yes, why?"

"No reason. I just want to call him and ask him to have some of his men on standby. Bob's beating has me on edge, so send me the number right away."

"As you wish."

Alex ended the call and held his phone, waiting for the number to come through. Despite his agreement with Madoff, he was still worried, especially about Nina. He wouldn't let anyone harm her. He planned to hire two bodyguards to protect her without her or anyone else noticing.

He reached out to knock on her door but was surprised to find it ajar. He pushed it open slowly and entered quietly, noticing the room was lit but empty. He glanced at the bed, scattered with many photos—the same ones Madoff had shown him. So, Maya hadn't been able to resist her curiosity and had seen them. He approached the bed to gather the photos, but he jumped when he heard her cold voice behind him.

"Breaking into other people’s homes—now that adds up to four wonderful traits," she said.

He turned to face her, seeing her flushed face and eyes swollen from crying. Ignoring what he saw, he replied, "I didn’t know entering through an open door was considered breaking in. Why was your door open? Wasn’t what happened to Kal and Bob enough? Do you want it to happen to you next?"

She replied, crossing her arms, "I have nothing left to lose if I die."

"But others will lose something," he said, his voice hard.

A faint smile crossed her lips as she said, "Have you started playing the game of exploiting me?"

"Games don’t work on you. In fact, I still don’t know what does."

"Maybe a beating will work," she suggested mockingly.

"I doubt it. From what I hear, you’ve been beaten three times already," he replied seriously.

She raised an eyebrow, "Do you have spies everywhere? Why are you so obsessed with watching me?"

Sarcastically, he answered, "You know I need to keep myself occupied to avoid going back to addiction. I decided to make you that occupation. The truth is, you're more addictive than heroin. You surprise me every day."

She tilted her head, "And you're no exception. I discovered today that you took one of the black envelopes sent to me."

He asked suspiciously, "How did you know?"

She walked over to the bed, picked up the empty black envelope, and held it up in front of him. "It’s marked as number four, but it should be the third unless someone took one of them. And there’s only one suspect—someone who snuck into my office a few days ago."

He looked at her in silence, and she quietly asked, "What was in it?"

"Pictures of me and Frederick, urging you to kill us," he answered simply.

She pursed her lips and tossed the envelope back onto the bed indifferently before walking over to the couch in the middle of the room and sitting down. Alex asked, "Did it hurt you?"

She lifted her head in confusion, so he gestured towards the photos on the bed. She replied without looking at him, "You know everything, don’t you? You know that Kal was killed because of me since he helped me find Sam’s daughter. And you know that Bob was beaten because I had him watch her."

Alex walked over to the wall across from the couch and leaned against it. "Yes, my spies told me."

She stared into space, her voice filled with pain, "I killed a father and a husband and hurt a friend."

"Maya," Alex whispered.

But she continued, her voice breaking, "Did you see how young his children are? Did you see how young his wife is? He managed to reduce his sentence from ten years to six out of longing for his wife and children. He must have dreamed of the day he’d be reunited with them. But I... But I..." She stopped, sobbing as tears streamed down her face. She resumed, her voice choked with emotion, "But I took that dream away from him. I destroyed his hopes..."

Alex’s chest tightened as he saw her in such a state. "Stop talking. I deliberately left you alone for nine hours so I wouldn’t have to see your tears, so stop."

She cried out, "Nine hours—so that’s the price for ending a man’s life."

He shouted back, "You didn’t end his life—Sam did."

She wiped her face with trembling fingers, then asked him cryptically, "So does Sam deserve to die for what he did to Kal?"

Alex responded angrily, "He deserves to be torn apart and fed to the dogs."

She stood up, looking him in the eye. "Then do it."

"What?"

"Kill Sam," she demanded.

Surprise spread across Alex’s face as Maya pressed on, "Yes, kill him. Punish him for what he did. Make him an example to others."

Alex stared at her, then furrowed his brow, asking, "How much will you pay?"

"Pay?" she echoed.

"Yes. I heard you were generous enough to bribe Kal twice, so how much will you bribe me to kill Sam?"

She didn’t speak, merely looking down at the floor. Alex concluded, "That’s why you sold your car, to pay him. I understood that part, but where did you get the money the first time?"

There was no point in trying to deceive him, so she answered, "I used the check you gave me."

He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, then opened them, asking calmly, "What about your family? Where did you get the money?"

"I took out a loan," she said, turning her face away from him.

"How did you get it?" he pressed.

"I mortgaged the house," she admitted.

"Maya," he called, but she didn’t look at him. He repeated firmly, "Maya, look at me!"

She finally turned her head, meeting his sky-blue eyes, and he spoke with sincere emotion, "Your actions are breaking my heart."

She looked at him, then stepped closer until only a few centimeters separated them. She placed her hand on his chest, right over his heart, and asked, her gaze fixed on his chest, "How many ribs did I break, Alexander?"

"Not a single one," he replied.

"Good. Strong ribs must protect a strong heart," she said softly. "So, can I rest my head on your chest, knowing you’re alright?"

He didn’t answer, simply staring at her silently.

She slowly withdrew her hand and said, "But if I do that, it means I trust you. Can I trust you?"

"You already know the answer," he whispered.

She smiled mysteriously, "Unfortunately, that’s true. I don’t trust you one bit." She turned, her tone returning to normal, "Now tell me, will you put a bullet in Sam’s head?"

He watched her sit back down on the couch before replying, "I wonder why I should put a bullet in Sam’s head when I could solve my problems by putting a bullet in yours."

She laughed, "I told you earlier that I don’t trust you, so I wouldn’t be surprised if you did that."

He took a few steps and then sat down in front of her on the low table across from her couch. "Are we done with the jokes?"

"If you break the table, you’ll have to pay for it," she retorted sarcastically

Impatiently, he shouted, "Shut up and listen to me!"

Maya leaned back on the couch, surprised by his outburst, then asked, "What do you want?"

With narrowed eyes, he replied, "Do you realize what you've gotten yourself into? It's obvious that Sam is not an easy man, and his influence is immense. He killed one man and nearly killed another just because you monitored his daughter. Wake up and see that the battle you're trying to fight is completely one-sided. Not to mention Madoff, who no one knows how he thinks or operates. Those photos are undoubtedly his doing."

In a shaky voice, Maya asked again, "What do you want?"

"Stop going after Sam and Madoff."

She asked provocatively, "Just Sam and Madoff, or does that include dear Frederick?"

He slammed his hand on the table, shouting, "Who mentioned Frederick now! I don't care what you plan to do to Frederick. He's a strong man who can protect himself from you. At least Frederick won't respond to your madness by hurting those around you or using vile psychological tactics to break you."

Trying to ease the tension, she said, "You're scary."

He took a deep breath and then asked, "Do you know the one trump card Sam and Madoff have to take you down, which they won’t hesitate to use if you keep provoking them?"

Maya bit her lip, sensing what he was about to say. Alex confirmed her fear, "Nina."

Maya whispered in disbelief, "No, they won't reach her."

Alex responded angrily, "Yes, they will, and no one will be able to stop them. For God's sake, they got to a man who was protected by his cell and by the police officers around him, and they killed him among hundreds of prisoners without anyone seeing a thing. They know who Nina is to you; they know she’s the lifeline that, if cut, will destroy you. They won't play games with you. Any further moves you make will result in Nina being taken from your arms. These bastards end the game whenever they please."

Maya lowered her head, clasping her hands together to stop them from trembling. Alex softened his tone, saying gently, "I'm not asking you to give up your revenge. Do what you must, but I'm asking you to be patient, to find the right way. Make them feel safe for now, then strike when you have the strength and the evidence you need."

Maya remained silent, and Alex took the opportunity to continue, "And since you haven't killed Frederick yet, I get the feeling you plan to take down both Madoff and Frederick on the same day."

Maya lifted her head, shocked by how he figured that out. Alex smiled and said, "So until that day when you plan to kill Frederick and Madoff, let's call a truce." He extended his hand to her.

Maya was silent, but after a moment, she extended her hand as well, shaking his. He squeezed her hand, gazing into her eyes with pain, then swallowed hard, releasing a quiet, stifled sigh. Finally, he brought her hand to his lips, placing a gentle kiss on it, trying to erase the image that had crossed his mind.

Maya wanted to say something, but he didn’t give her the chance. He said, as he let go of her hand, "Tomorrow, we'll go to the bank, pay off the loan, and release the mortgage on your house."

She opened her mouth to protest, but he cut her off, saying, "Don’t argue, and think about it—if Sam ever decides to kill you and succeeds, the only thing you’ll leave your family is a disaster and a mortgaged house."

Her eyes sparkled as she smiled and said, “Yes, I’ll leave them a disaster, a mortgaged house, and a gallant man who never lets anyone down—named Alexander.”