Chapter 9 - The Night at 1:17
Sunday night, Victor removed Maya’s braces from beside her bed.
She woke to the sound of the door closing.
“Where are you taking them?”
“You don’t need them while you sleep.”
“Put them back.”
“You’ll get them after you sign.”
Linda stood in the hallway wearing her robe.
She avoided Maya’s eyes.
“Mom, stop him.”
Linda whispered, “Just sign the papers. We’ll fix everything later.”
“There won’t be anything left to fix.”
Victor carried the braces downstairs.
Maya waited until their footsteps disappeared.
Then she pulled the emergency phone from beneath the mattress.
The screen read 1:16 a.m.
She pressed the side button three times.
Evan answered immediately.
“Maya?”
Before she could speak, Victor returned.
He saw the light beneath the blanket.
He grabbed the phone.
Maya held on.
“Evan, he took my braces!”
Victor tore the device away.
It fell onto the floor, but the call remained connected.
Victor did not notice.
“You think your brother can save you?”
Maya tried to reach the phone.
He kicked it beneath the dresser.
Linda entered.
“Victor, stop.”
“You created this,” he told her. “You kept letting her believe she has choices.”
Maya heard Evan’s voice faintly through the speaker.
“Maya? Maya, answer me.”
Victor closed the bedroom door.
He told Maya that the buyer would arrive after breakfast.
She would sign the deed and a statement confirming she had voluntarily transferred the property.
If she refused, Victor threatened to place her in a private care facility using the fake conservatorship papers.
“Your mother will say you’re confused.”
Maya looked at Linda.
Her mother began crying.
But she did not deny it.
Victor picked up the phone and ended the call.
He failed to close the recording application Maya had activated.
The phone continued capturing sound.
Victor locked it inside the kitchen drawer.
Evan called the local police.
He explained what he had heard.
The dispatcher said officers would check the address.
But Evan did not trust a routine welfare visit.
He got into his car and began driving.
May you like
At 1:43 a.m., Victor returned to Maya’s room carrying the transfer papers.
👉 Evan was racing through the rain, unaware that Victor planned to force Maya’s signature before sunrise.
