Chapter 5 - The Flying Monkeys
Eleanor did exactly what Arthur predicted. When her direct access was blocked, she deployed her proxies.
Three days after Maya was discharged and safely settled into the secure downtown apartment, Liam returned to his office building. He was exhausted, running on caffeine and pure adrenaline, but he needed to handle some urgent client files.
As he walked into the corporate lobby, he saw them. Aunt Susan and Uncle David—the same two relatives who had sat sipping prosecco while Maya lay bleeding on the floor.
Susan rushed forward, her face twisted in a mask of aggressive concern. “Liam! Thank goodness. Your mother is inconsolable. She hasn’t slept in days. You need to stop this childish tantrum and call her.”
Liam stopped dead in his tracks. He didn’t yell. He didn’t shrink back. He simply stared at them with a look of absolute disgust.
“My wife almost died of sepsis,” Liam said, his voice carrying clearly across the quiet lobby. “And you sat at my dining table drinking wine.”
Uncle David shifted uncomfortably. “Now, son, let’s not blow things out of proportion. Your mother just has high standards. She was trying to help Maya learn how to manage a household. You’re breaking her heart by locking her out.”
“If you ever come to my place of work again,” Liam said, his tone dropping to a dangerous, icy register, “I will have building security escort you out, and I will file a police report for harassment. You are not my family. You are her enablers. And you are dead to me.”
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Susan gasped, clutching her purse. “You are making a terrible mistake, Liam Davis!”
Liam turned his back on them and scanned his badge at the security turnstile. He walked to the elevators without looking back, feeling a profound, incredible sense of liberation. The invisible chains his mother had wrapped around him were finally breaking.
