The police being in the house changed everything.
Even before I saw them.
Even before I heard a single word.
You could feel it.
In the way the air tightened.
In the way the staff moved—quieter, faster, avoiding eye contact.
In the way Max stood completely still for half a second longer than normal before everything in him snapped back into place.
Controlled.
Untouchable.
Like none of this mattered.
“Go,” he said to me again, his voice low but firm. “Now.”
“I’m not just leaving—”
“Maya.”
The way he said my name stopped me.
Not loud.
Not angry.
But final.
I swallowed hard.
Because I knew that tone now.
And pushing against it wouldn’t get me anywhere.
It never did.
“This isn’t over,” I said quietly.
“No,” he replied. “It isn’t.”
Our eyes held for a second.
Too long.
T
