CHAPTER5
1189 Words
Chapter 5: The choice
Forty-eight hours were finally up and it was time for Maya to make a life-changing decision.
She was scared but she knew she had to make one.
This was the second time at Jordan's office but as she walked in, she didn't feel like prey.
She felt a bit more confident.
She still wore the same thrifted store coat and scuffed boots. Still had shadows under her
eyes and her fingers trembled when no one was looking.
But something had changed on this day. She now knew there were two stories. Jordan's
version. And the one she accidentally stumbled upon.
The receptionist didn't even ask her name this time. Just nodded and buzzed her through.
“Mr Hale is expecting you”
.
“Of course he is”
.
As she stepped into the elevator she could hear her heart beat faster as it approached his
office.
Jordan turned the moment she entered. He was standing by the window again, hands in his
pocket, like last time. Like he owned the city beyond the glass.
“I wasn't sure you'd come back”
, he said.
“I'm very sure you were,
" she replied.
He smiled faintly,
“Maybe”
.
He finally turned to look at her.
They stared at each other for a moment.
Finally, she broke the silence,
“I have gone through the contract”
.
“And..?”
“It's legally airtight but also morally sickening ”
.
He smiled,
“That's a matter of perspective, don't you think?”
Maya stepped forward,
“You've created a contract where I trade my autonomy for peace of
mind”
.
Jordan moved to his desk and opened a leather folder,
“I simply created a solution”
.
“No, you simply created a way for you to have control over my life”
, she argued.
She ignored the folder,
“Did you even think to find out the full story. Not just one passed
down to you. About my father?”
His eyes didn't change. But something in his posture did.
“He stole from us”
, Jordan said flatly.
“Why are you so certain of that?” Maya asked.
“According to who?”
“My father,
" he said loudly.
Maya's jaw tightened,
“Of course”
.
He studied her now, more carefully.
“You think I'm wrong?”
“Yes. I think you've been misled. I think a lot is missing. My father. Your company. Your
father. But you didn't even think to check, did you?”
His gaze sharpened.
“I also found something odd. For a man who allegedly destroyed your family and empire,
there seems to be no record of him. Not even a line in an article. Not even a whisper.
”
Jordan was quiet.
Maya took a step closer and whispered,
Jordan was enraged,
“It's almost like someone erased him”
.
“or maybe no one wanted to write about a man who mattered to no
one but his own family”
.
Those words stung Maya's heart.
She had no words left to say.
He opened the folder and slid the contract towards her. A pen rested beside it.
“I told you. This is your choice”
.
Maya looked down at it.
“Black ink. Legal terms. There's no way out. Sign here. Sign your life”
, she thought to herself.
“You said my father ruined you”
, She looked into his eyes.
“He did.
”
“You were what nineteen? Twenty?”
Jordan said nothing.
“So all of this? Everything you built? Every late night, every ruthless choice..was to pay for a
revenge you weren't even old enough to understand?”
The corner of his mouth twitched,
“You don't know me”
.
“No. But I'm finally starting to see who I'm dealing with”
.
Jordan got up and went to the glass view,
“You think you have me all figured out?”
“I just think I know why you want me here”
, she said calmly.
“You want control. You want
power. Maybe even guilt”
.
He didn't move.
She searched for the pen but she didn't find it.
Not yet.
She looked him in the eye,
“Just tell me one thing first”
.
Jordan finally turned and raised an eyebrow,
“What is it this time?”
“Do you believe my father did this? Or are you just afraid of what it means if he didn't do it”
.
The room went quiet.
She probed further,
“Did it ever cross your mind that you're just looking for someone to
blame for your bad childhood”
.
His jaw flexed but he said nothing.
She sighed, then picked up the pen.
One stroke. Then another.
She finally signed. She thought to herself,
“This is the end. I just signed my life away to a
psychopath”
.
Maya placed the pen down neatly. No more words.
Jordan's expression didn't change, but something in his eyes shifted. Just for a second.
“You'll have access to the Hale residence tomorrow”
, he said flatly.
“I'll have a car come pick
you up at noon. Be ready”
.
She nodded, stepped back, and turned to leave.
At the door, she paused.
Without looking back at him, she said,
“If I find out you knew the truth but still decided to take
this step—
”
She didn't finish. She didn't need to.
Jordan said nothing but his heart started to beat faster.
Maya walked out head high, chin up but a knot started to form in her stomach.
“What have I
done?”
She'd made her choice.
But this wasn't over.
It was far from over.
Outside the building, the wind had picked up. Maya pulled her coat tighter as she walked.
Steps steady. Breath shaky.
But as she reached the curb, a sleek black car she didn't recognize pulled up-quiet,
unmarked, waiting.
The driver stepped out without a word and opened the door for her.
Her chest tightened. She was confused.
“I didn't schedule a pickup”
, she said carefully.
The driver simply said,
“Mr Hale sent me. He thought you'd be interested in having full
access to the Hale properties now”
.
Maya stared at the open door.
“I thought I was moving in tomorrow”
.
The driver didn't answer.
She turned, suddenly unsure.
“I'll come on my own tomorrow. I'm not ready yet”
.
The driver handed her a phone. One message on the screen.
“You signed. You're an affiliate to the Hale family. That means you're ready”
.
Maya's blood ran cold.
She hadn't given him her number.
Something about this felt personal. Controlling. Scary.
Her fingers tremble as she hands the phone back.
She wondered for the first time in her life if she had just walked into something she couldn't undo.
- Writer
