Chapter 8 - The Paper Beneath Her Plate
“I’m not signing this,” Maya said.
Trent leaned back in his chair.
“You haven’t read it.”
“I read enough.”
Richard folded his hands on the table.
“This company is larger than you understand.”
“It belonged to my father.”
“And he nearly destroyed it by refusing experienced guidance,” Richard replied.
“My father built it.”
Celeste pushed the pen closer.
“Sign before you embarrass yourself.”
Maya left it untouched.
Trent’s expression changed.
The warmth disappeared from his face.
He reached across the table and closed his hand around her wrist.
“You have enjoyed every privilege my family gave you.”
“My father paid for this penthouse.”
Trent squeezed harder.
“My father put you on the company board.”
His fingers tightened again.
“My father gave you your first executive job.”
Celeste slammed her palm against the table.
“Stop talking about that dead man as if he was a saint.”
Maya looked directly at her.
“What did you say?”
For one second, Celeste appeared nervous.
Then Richard interrupted.
“The papers, Maya.”
Maya pushed the folder away.
“No.”
Trent stood so quickly his chair struck the wall.
Maya rose and said she needed the bathroom.
He blocked her path.
She placed one hand on her stomach.
“The baby is pressing on my bladder.”
After a tense pause, Trent allowed her to leave.
But Celeste followed her to the hallway.
Inside the bathroom, Maya retrieved the emergency phone.
She sent Alex three words.
TONIGHT. NOT MORNING.
A reply appeared instantly.
TEAM IN POSITION.
Maya opened the penthouse security application.
Every exterior door had been electronically locked.
The service elevator was disabled.
The stairwell alarm was active.
Trent had turned their home into a sealed cage.
Then someone knocked.
“Open the door,” Celeste ordered. “Your husband is waiting.”
Maya hid the phone inside her dress.
When she returned to the dining room, the legal folder had been replaced by a bottle of whiskey.
Trent poured himself a glass.
May you like
“You had your chance to do this peacefully.”
👉 Trent no longer needed Maya’s cooperation—because his parents had prepared another way to take control.
