Chapter 25: Settling Scores

She thought he was joking when he said he chose her, but it turned out he was serious. He had informed Madoff of his decision, and now he stood before her with Bernard in his apartment, explaining his plan to trap Madoff. Of course, she was to be the bait since she was the one chosen. She wasn’t angry that he had chosen his uncle’s safety over hers; in fact, she remembered Anne’s words to her and realized Alex was right—Frederick had no fault in the current events and shouldn’t be involved. Still, she couldn’t deny the shock of his decision. She didn’t know why, but she expected him to say something like, "I can’t choose between you," or "You’re both important to me." True, according to his plan, Maya would be fine, but no one could predict Madoff’s mind. Entering his lair didn’t guarantee coming out alive.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Alex’s voice, "Maya, are you listening? Why do I feel like you’re in another world?"

She mumbled, "I’m with you."

He addressed both Maya and Bernard, "Alright, I want you both in the apartment at three in the morning—three hours from now—because our meeting with Madoff is at four."

Maya spoke up, "Wait, about the apartment..."

Alex interrupted, "I already told you, it’s the apartment we took you to after we arrested you."

She replied with irritation, "You mean the apartment where I stabbed you." Bernard smiled as she continued, "I know that, but I’m saying I don’t know its location because I was blindfolded."

Alex raised his eyebrows, "Who blindfolded you?"

She pointed her finger at Bernard, "Mr. Bernard."

Alex said, "Then Bernard will give you directions. See you in three hours. Get some rest. Goodbye."

She gently opened her mother’s bedroom door, not sure if she was asleep or awake. The room was dark, but she whispered, "Mom?"

There was no response, so she was about to leave when she heard her mother’s voice say, "Come in."

Maya smiled and walked in without turning on the light, knowing the darkness would help her a little. She softly said, "If you want to sleep, I’ll come back later."

Madeleine mumbled, "It’s fine."

Maya remained silent for a while before sitting on the edge of her mother’s bed, where she was lying down. Without any preamble, she said, "I wasn’t on a mission; I was in jail."

Madeleine sat up, repeating in shock, "Jail?"

Maya confessed, "I killed a man, but don’t worry; he was a bad man. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you."

Madeleine commented plainly, "I suspected something was going on with you, but the truth is that jail never crossed my mind." Then she added, "Do you mean actual jail? Are you sure you were in the place where criminals are locked up?"

Maya replied with frustration, "If this is your way of telling me you’re disappointed in me, then you’ve succeeded."

Madeleine asked with confusion, "How did you get out then?"

Maya muttered, "With Frederick’s help. Another surprise, right?"

Madeleine responded seriously, "No, it’s not a surprise. I already knew he loved and cared about you."

Maya changed the subject, "Speaking of Frederick, he was kidnapped by a gang." She definitely wasn’t going to tell her mother that the kidnapper was her father’s killer.

Madeleine exclaimed in shock, "That’s the real shock. When did this happen? And why did they kidnap him?"

Maya replied simply, "Two days ago. In three hours, I’m going with Alexander to rescue him."

Madeleine whispered, "Why?"

Maya pretended not to understand, "Why what?"

"Why are you going to rescue him? I thought your biggest wish was for Frederick to die."

"Umm... I’m not sure yet. I think I’m saving him for my father’s sake or for yours..."

Madeleine interrupted, "Or maybe for your own sake."

Maya whispered without denial, "Maybe."

A minute of silence passed before Madeleine softly said, "I’m not used to this."

Maya made a questioning sound, so Madeleine continued, "You coming to me and telling me what happened to you or what you’re planning to do. I’m not used to that from you."

The darkness in the room hid the emotions on Maya’s face, but she managed to say with a voice heavy with emotion, "I know. I know the idea of revenge has distanced me from you. I know I’ve let you down since Dad’s death. I even left you alone after the funeral. I’m sorry for that. I promise things will change."

Madeleine placed her hand over Maya’s hand, which was resting on the bed beside her, and whispered gently, "Stop blaming yourself for things that aren’t your fault. We both know I was the one who refused to let you stay with me and opposed your idea of settling here. The truth is, I wanted to be alone. You know, you were my rock, especially after your father’s death. It should have been the wife who took responsibility after her husband’s death, but I withdrew, forcing you to take my place. How could you have let me down when you took on not only my responsibility but also that of your father and sister?"

Maya lifted her mother’s hand—the one holding hers—to her lips and gently kissed it, whispering, "I love you."

A mischievous smile spread across her face as she pressed her finger on the doorbell of the large house for a full minute. There was nothing more satisfying than annoying someone who hated her. She knew it wasn’t the right time, especially since she had a confrontation with death in an hour, but despite all the tension, she felt an odd desire for some fun.

The door burst open violently, and Sonia appeared, staring at her in shock. But the surprise quickly turned to anger. Sonia hissed through gritted teeth, "You’re insane."

Maya didn’t miss the puffiness of Sonia’s face and the redness in her eyes, but she ignored it and said with a mischievous smile, "Did I bother you?"

Sonia snapped, "Do you know how annoying that bell is? Do you know my head is about to explode from the noise?"

Maya feigned an apology, "Sorry, I thought you were sleeping."

Sonia repeated, not fully processing, "You thought I was...! Now I understand the meaning of a lame excuse."

Maya pointed inside with her finger and asked sweetly, "May I come in?"

Sonia studied her for a moment before stepping aside and muttering, "Come in," allowing Maya to enter, with Sonia following her inside after closing the door.

Maya spoke as soon as she sat down, "So, you weren’t sleeping!"

Sonia replied sharply, "How could I sleep at a time like this?"

Maya responded provocatively, "Strange! When do people sleep if not at two in the morning?"

It seemed Sonia wasn’t in the mood to engage, as she said with resignation, "You know Frederick could be dead in a few hours! Did you expect me to be asleep?"

Maya tilted her head and said, "Sorry to disappoint you, but Frederick won’t die. No one will let that happen."

Sonia asked with a glimmer of hope in her eyes, "What are you all going to do?"

Maya quickly responded, "We’re going after him in about an hour."

The joy that appeared on Sonia’s face was quickly tinged with confusion as she asked, "Wait! Does that mean Alex is going to trade you for Frederick?"

Maya stiffened and muttered, "Something like that, but I’ll be fine."

Sonia moved closer and sat beside her, speaking frankly, "Are you saying this to me or to yourself?"

Maya didn’t respond, so Sonia continued, "Could it be that you’re scared? Wait... Is that why you’re here?"

Maya opened her mouth to protest, but she paused for a few seconds, then smiled a smile that confirmed Sonia’s suspicion. "I knew Frederick wouldn’t choose anyone but a smart woman. But I’m not scared; I’m just a little tense."

"Why did you come to me specifically?"

"Well, I didn’t want to be alone. I needed to talk to someone. I remembered that my previous therapist used to say talking to a stranger is comforting. And honestly, I couldn’t think of any stranger who’d open their door to me before dawn besides you. I knew you wouldn’t be asleep."

"And did your therapist tell you to annoy these strangers like you did with me?"

Maya laughed, "No, but when I stood at your door, I remembered those two painful slaps. I had to pay you back."

Sonia said with a compassionate tone, "I’m sorry. I didn’t know about your father’s story."

But talking about her father was the last thing Maya wanted to do at that moment, so she calmly said, "Speaking of which, I give you my blessing for the wedding."

Sonia looked at her before quietly saying, "You’re joking, right?"

Maya replied curtly, "No."

Sonia’s temper flared, "Who do you think you are? Did you really think I wouldn’t get married without your approval?"

Maya spoke plainly, "Not you, but I think Frederick’s answer would be yes."

Sonia narrowed her eyes, pondering, then slowly asked, "Does this mean you’ve forgiven Frederick?"

Maya stared at

the floor before looking up at Sonia with determination, "No." Sonia wanted to say something, but Maya stopped her, continuing with a trembling voice, "I realized that Frederick didn’t commit any sin for me to forgive him for. The truth is, I need his forgiveness. I made things harder for him instead of helping him move on. I accused and wronged him. My father’s death wasn’t his fault. Anne revealed this truth to me, but Madoff made me believe it when he put me in the same position as my father." Her eyes glistened as she whispered to Sonia, "I’d appreciate it if you could pass on my apology to Frederick."

"You’re the one rescuing him, so you should tell him yourself."

"Oh, definitely." She then glanced at her watch, saying, "I have to leave now."

But Sonia sensed something strange, so she said before Maya could leave, "I want you to promise me something."

Maya turned to her, "I’m listening."

Sonia, her eyes full of confidence, said, "Promise me you’ll be my bridesmaid at the wedding!"

Maya mumbled, "You have my word," then left, thinking that Nina would be more than happy to take on that role.

She sat in her car at exactly three o’clock. Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale. Despite this, she couldn’t stop her hands from trembling or calm the anxiety consuming her. What was going on? This wasn’t her first mission. Over the past three years, she’d been on more missions than her age. So why did she feel this tightness in her chest? Was it because this was her first mission with Alex? Was it because their enemy this time was Madoff? Or was it because she was the bait in this mission? Most likely, the last reason was what worried her. She would be Madoff’s target, exposed to him. Sure, Bernard would cover her back, and Alex would be nearby, but still! Okay, Alex had said that Madoff wouldn’t kill her right away. His arrogance would make him gloat first, and during that time, Bernard would ensure to take him and his men down with Alex’s help. That way, Madoff would die, and they would all get out safely. Yet, she felt something was missing from the plan. What if Madoff decided to seize the opportunity and kill her on the spot? Then Alex and Bernard would start shooting wildly out of anger, making it easy for Madoff to take them down. Then everyone would die, and Madoff would win. That was just one of the many scenarios she had imagined in the last few hours, all ending the same way—she would die, and so would everyone else with her. So, since she was going to die anyway, she found a way to take Madoff down with her and save her friends.

She turned to the seat next to her, swallowing hard as she looked at the small grenade sitting next to her gun. She never imagined in her wildest dreams that her end would come from blowing herself up with a grenade. Death! Why not? She had made peace with her mother and asked Sonia to deliver her apology to Frederick. Sure, she couldn’t say goodbye to her little Nina, but that was for the best. Nina would never forgive her if she knew she had planned to kill herself. She was ready now to finish her revenge and end Madoff. She reached for her gun and the small grenade but hesitated. No, she would leave them here; she was afraid Alex might notice the grenade. She would come back for them when it was time to meet Madoff. She opened the car door, got out, and locked the door before heading to the building where she would meet Bernard and Alex.

Nothing had changed inside; it was exactly as she had left it the first time. She smiled, realizing how much her life had changed since entering this apartment. She still remembered Craig’s threats that she wouldn’t leave this place alive and that he would be the one to kill her. She missed him, though he seemed to have not bothered remembering anyone during his enjoyable vacation with Nina. She walked quietly until she reached the room where they had tied her up, finding him there, his back to her, bent over a small table filled with weapons. Alexander—the man she loved and the man who, unfortunately, would never look at her the same way.

It seemed he sensed her presence as he called out without turning, "Come closer."

She obeyed but didn’t approach him directly; instead, she moved toward a low window on his right, standing before it and looking out at the quiet, deserted neighborhood through the iron bars surrounding the window.

She asked coldly, "Where’s Bernard?"

He mumbled, "I sent him on a small mission."

"What is it?"

"Taking care of two men Madoff sent to watch me."

She raised her eyebrows in confusion and asked, "Why take care of them now? Why didn’t you do it earlier?"

Alex replied matter-of-factly, "I thought they were reporting to Madoff every few hours, so Madoff would know if I took them out when their reports suddenly stopped. That’s why I let them watch me—I didn’t want to provoke Madoff into another confrontation."

She turned back to the window, looking out again. The sky was pitch black, with no stars shining and certainly no moon in sight. She wondered if this was a bad omen... She stopped thinking when she felt him standing directly behind her. What did he want now? He was strangely silent. Did he want to watch something through the window? She was about to step aside to give him a better view but found she couldn’t move. She was literally trapped between him and the window bars. She felt him step back a little, sensing her desire to move away, but he only took one step back, which wasn’t enough for her to retreat but allowed her to turn and face him.

She wished she hadn’t turned around, for the man standing before her was different from the Alexander she knew. He stood completely relaxed, his eyes—locked on hers—gleaming with a light she had never seen before, his mouth curled in a lazy smile. What was going on? That was the question she wanted to ask, but she wouldn’t. She wanted to see how this silent play would end. Finally, he took the step forward again, bringing her face to his chest, or rather, into his embrace.

She stiffened in shock at first. She had thought Frederick’s confession of his involvement in her father’s death was a shock. She had thought killing Sam was a shock. She had thought Madoff kidnapping Frederick was a shock. But now she realized the real shock was being hugged by this man. She trembled, exhaling as she relaxed in his arms, but she barely had time to close her eyes before she felt something cold wrap around her wrist and heard the clink of metal. She opened her eyes in disbelief, lowering her gaze to her right hand to find it cuffed to one of the window bars. She looked up at Alex, still in his arms, and asked with wide, confused eyes, "What’s happening?"

He tilted his head, resting his forehead against hers, and whispered, "You once told me you chose me over your father, and now I’m telling you that I chose you over my uncle."

A strange numbness washed over her as she listened before understanding his words. Her eyes widened, and she pushed him away with her free hand, screaming, "No!"

He stumbled back from her push but didn’t respond as she continued to scream in a frenzy, "Let me go! This isn’t right; I would never choose you over my father."

His reaction forced a smile from him as he replied with amusement, "Well, in that case, I wouldn’t choose you over my father either. But here’s the surprise—Frederick isn’t my father."

She screamed for the third time, "Alexander! This isn’t funny. Unlock me right now; you have no right to choose."

He quickly responded, "Yes, I do. Madoff gave me that right."

She looked at him, bewildered, unsure if he was serious. Then she whispered in anguish, "This is wrong. You’re betraying Frederick this way."

He answered seriously, "Don’t worry; Frederick will be grateful to me. I know he considers you the most precious thing in this world." Then he added, "Well, you and Sonia, of course."

Sonia! Could she be the reason? Did she call him and tell him she was scared? Is that why he decided to keep her out? She asked softly, "Did you talk to Sonia today?"

He looked at her in surprise and mumbled, "Yes, I talked to her this afternoon. Why?"

So Sonia wasn’t the reason. She asked flatly, "Then why? What happened in the last two hours that made you decide not to take me with you?"

He answered honestly, "Nothing happened. You seem to have misunderstood. My decision not to take you didn’t just come now; it came the moment Madoff called me and told me to choose between you and Frederick. That’s when I decided you wouldn’t be part of this dirty game, even if Madoff flipped upside down. I was confident you were safe in jail and wouldn’t even know what was happening. But unfortunately, John ruined my plan when he got you out and told you about it. When you came to me with that determined look in your eyes, I knew no matter what I did, I couldn’t keep you away. Even if I did, you would act on your own, as usual. So the only solution, unfortunately, was to deceive you—to make you think you would be with

us until the last moment."

She hissed through gritted teeth, "You bastard!"

He replied with a shrug, "Maybe." Then he added with a smile, "But if I’m a bastard, you were... what can I say?... Let’s call you naive and gullible. How on earth did you fall for a stupid plan like the one I told you about? I expected you to object and say it was a terrible plan. You disappointed me."

She responded with bitter sarcasm, "I thought your love for your uncle made you blind to the stupidity of your plan. I had no idea you were ungrateful to the man who saved your life."

He objected, "I still love my uncle..."

She cut him off, shouting, "Madoff will kill him, you idiot, if I don’t show up."

He answered firmly, "No, he won’t. There’s something else I didn’t tell you—the meeting with Madoff is scheduled for six in the morning, not four, which means Madoff won’t be expecting our ambush."

She pleaded, "Then there won’t be any danger to me. Unlock me."

He stepped closer, his voice rough, "Enough. The matter is settled." Then he parted the sides of her black coat, scanning her waist with his eyes.

She whispered in shock, "What are you doing?"

He looked up at her, answering with a provocative smile, "What do you think I’m doing?" Then he started slipping his hands into the coat’s outer and inner pockets.

She understood—he was looking for her gun. But his actions made an idea scream in her head—his gun holstered at his belt! She quickly reached for it with her free left hand and managed to grab it, but his strong hand covered hers before she could draw it.

He scolded her as he pulled her hand away from his gun, "I’m not that fool you stabbed in the thigh." Then he knelt down, checking if she had any weapons hidden in her lower legs, but found nothing. He stood up, frowning, "I can’t believe you were going to face Madoff without any weapon! Where’s your gun?"

She replied, "In the car."

He asked, suddenly remembering, "Oh, right. Where is it?"

She replied coldly, "The car? I parked it in the kitchen."

He mocked, "Wow... I love your sense of humor."

She tilted her head. His words reminded her of what she had said to him during their first encounter when she had arrested him. The circumstances of that first meeting and this one—which seemed like their last—were remarkably similar. Of course, there was one difference—back then, she was in control, but now he was. She heard him ask again, "Give it to me."

She sighed, irritated, "What?"

He clarified, "Your keys—you know, car keys, house keys, etc."

She studied him slowly, searching for anything to help her, until her eyes fell on the knife hanging from his belt, secured by a metal loop. She spoke slowly, "In the coat’s inner pocket. Come and get it."

He ordered, "Give it to me."

She confidently replied, "No. If you want it, take it yourself."

He exhaled in frustration, then approached, searching for the keys, "I know it’s hard to try to pick handcuffs with something big like keys, but honestly, I don’t trust..." He stopped mid-sentence when Maya suddenly snatched the knife from his belt. He couldn’t grab it back, but he clamped his fingers around her wrist, then said softly, "Maya! When will you realize you’re no match for me? Drop it now."

She didn’t comply, still gripping the knife, so he sighed, "You’re forcing me to break my rule about not hurting women."

She snapped, "Go to hell with your rules."

He shook his head, muttering, "As you wish." Then he twisted her arm behind her back. She winced in pain but refused to let go of the knife, which made him increase the pressure on her arm until the knife clattered to the ground. Alex whispered, "Good girl," and returned to playing the role of the inspector, finally retrieving the keys. After that, he raised his hands, freeing her hair from its tie, then ran his fingers through her hair until he felt the cold metal of two thin hairpins.

As soon as he freed his hands from her hair, she lowered her head, letting her hair fall to cover the sides of her face. It was over. The hairpins had been her last hope. She had felt confident because she knew she could escape the handcuffs using the pins, but that hope had turned into a mirage. Now she couldn’t move from her spot, couldn’t rescue Frederick, couldn’t avenge Madoff and kill him. But why? She had the perfect opportunity to take him down today. Why was she stuck here? How did this happen? What was the reason? ... Of course, she knew the reason. She was staring at his shiny brown shoes—Alexander! Did he know what he was doing to her? Did he understand the pain he was causing her? Did he grasp the humiliation and disgrace he was making her endure? Why was her torment tied to the man she loved? At that moment, tears of frustration streamed down her cheeks. She raised her hands to wipe them, but two thumbs beat her to it.

Annoyed by her silence, he stood for a moment, then moved closer, cupping her downcast face in his hands and wiping her tears with his thumbs. His fingers were wet, so why did they feel like they were burning? He sighed in frustration as he lifted her face toward him, making her meet his gaze. She looked into his eyes, wanting him to step away from her, to leave and go. She didn’t want to see him or hear his voice; she had had enough. She couldn’t take any more. Unfortunately, he saw everything she felt as he gazed at her. He smiled a pained smile and said in a hoarse voice, "Let whatever happens happen, but I won’t ever let you go." Then he leaned in, kissed her cheek softly, and whispered, "I love you." He added a confession, "I’ve always loved you, Maya." After that, he quietly left the room.