Restless Night
1609 Words
CHAPTER 10
Madison’s POV
He finally picked.
“Hello?”
Dalton’s voice came through, low and sharp.
My lips almost betrayed me. The words rushed to my throat everything I had discovered, the trap Carter had set, the way my initials were slipped into the documents like I was part of it. But the moment I opened my mouth, I froze.
What was I doing? This wasn’t a normal call. I couldn’t risk saying something like this in my apartment, where anyone could overhear or trace me. Carter wasn’t stupid, if he had gone as far as to pull my name into his schemes, who knew how far his reach extended?
“Dalton,” I blurted, my voice shaking, “please… hold on. Don’t hang up. This is important. Just give me a minute.”
“Madison?” he asked, confusion and something sharper lacing his tone. “What’s going on?”
“Just—please hold on,” I said again, gripping the phone so tightly my knuckles whitened.
I shoved my laptop shut, grabbed my keys, and headed straight for the rooftop of my building. My heart was racing the entire climb up the narrow stairs. Each step felt like a countdown. By the time I burst onto the open roof, the cool night air hit me like a slap.
I pressed the phone back to my ear.
“Okay,” I breathed. “Now I can talk.”
Dalton was silent for a beat, and then, “I'm busy Madison” “What is it you have to say?”
I swallowed hard. “It’s the Riverside deal. I—I found something. Something that doesn’t make sense. A clause in the appendix. At first it looked harmless, but it’s not. If this deal goes through, the profits from your company won’t even touch your hands. They’ll be funneled to a shell corporation.”
For a moment, all I could hear was the faint hum of the city below.
“And,” I continued, my voice breaking, “it’s tied to The Ashcroft Group.”
The silence that followed was heavier than thunder.
“Are you sure?” His voice was controlled, but I could feel the anger seething beneath it, sharp and dangerous.
“Yes,” I whispered. “I triple-checked. And Dalton, that’s not the worst part.”
My chest tightened as I said it. “My name is on it. My initials. M.S. Listed under junior counsel review. I never signed it. I never approved it. But somehow, Carter made sure my name is there.”
The line was silent for half a heartbeat. Then Dalton exhaled sharply, and the sound made me flinch.
“Carter,” he muttered, his voice dripping with fury. “That bastard.”
“Dalton, I swear I had nothing to do with it,” I rushed to say, panic spilling out. “I didn’t know until tonight. Please, you have to believe me. He set me up. If this deal collapses or worse, if it goes through it’ll look like I was part of it. Like I was helping him.”
His voice came back, rough, heavy with rage. “This has Carter’s fingerprints all over it. He’s been too quiet, too careful these past months. I knew something was wrong.”
I pressed my forehead against the cold rooftop railing. “I don’t know why I’m even telling you this. I could lose my job. I probably will. But I couldn’t keep quiet. I couldn’t let it happen.”
There was a pause. I imagined Dalton on the other side, pacing, jaw tight, eyes blazing.
“Where are you right now?” he demanded.
“At my apartment,” I whispered.
“Good. Stay there. I’m sending you a location. We’ll meet tomorrow, 8 p.m. I’ll send my driver to pick you up. Don’t argue.”
My mouth opened, then closed. “Tomorrow? Dalton, what if Carter—”
“Tomorrow,” he said firmly, cutting me off. His voice was unshakable. “I need to see you in person. We’ll talk then.”
Before I could respond, the line went dead.
I lowered the phone slowly. My fingers trembled as I locked the screen.
Tomorrow.
The word echoed in my mind, but it wasn’t comforting. My job was on the line. My reputation as a young lawyer was on the line. Everything I had worked for could crumble if Carter decided to frame me further.
I sat down on the concrete edge of the roof and pulled my knees close to my chest. “Why am I even doing this?” I muttered.
I could have ignored the clause. I could have pretended I never saw it, turned a blind eye like so many others probably had. But I couldn’t. Not when it was so wrong.
The truth was simple. I couldn’t stand by and let Carter use me like a pawn. I couldn’t stomach the idea of being complicit in something that would ruin another person especially not someone like Dalton Hale.
Still… I needed the job.
The thought was bitter, like ash on my tongue. I needed this job. My bills, my student loans, my rent, it all depended on this paycheck. If Carter fired me, I’d be back at square one.
I pressed my palms against my eyes. “God, Madison, what are you doing?”
My phone buzzed. It was a text from Dalton.
Dalton: 8pm. Driver will pick you up. Location is private. Don’t worry about directions.
My stomach flipped. He hadn’t wasted a second.
Another text followed.
Dalton: What’s your address?
My thumbs hovered, then typed it in quickly. A wave of relief washed over me when he confirmed.
Dalton: Got it. My driver will be there. Be ready.
I let the phone fall to my lap. “Is this a good idea?” I whispered to myself. “Going to some place I don’t know, with a man like him?”
My heart fluttered in a way I didn’t want to admit. Dalton Hale was dangerous in more ways than one.
I picked up my phone again and scrolled to Ellie’s number. If anyone would talk sense into me, it was her.
“Ellie?” I said when she answered. “I need your advice.”
The next day dragged on like a chain tied around my ankles. Carter barely spoke to me, which was almost worse than his usual micromanaging. He smiled once during a meeting, and it sent chills down my spine.
By 7 p.m., I was home, tossing clothes across my bed in frustration.
“Madison,” I muttered at my reflection, “you’re not going on a date. It’s a meeting. A serious meeting.”
But my hands betrayed me, reaching for my nicest blouse, smoothing down my hair, touching up my lips with a faint color. I caught myself and groaned.
“Get it together. This is not about him.”
Still, my stomach was a knot when the sleek black car pulled up outside. The driver stepped out, polite and efficient.
“Miss Sterling?” he asked.
“Yes,” I said, trying to steady my voice.
“Mr. Hale is waiting. Please.”
The ride was quiet, the city lights blurring past the window. I kept my hands clenched in my lap, rehearsing what I would say, what I wouldn’t say.
When we finally pulled into a private driveway, my breath caught. The place was discreet, shielded from the street, but elegant.
And then I saw him.
Dalton Hale, standing just outside the entrance, phone in hand, suit jacket undone. The glow of the lights caught his sharp features, and I felt the same jolt I always did when I saw him like the air itself shifted around him.
He was tall, his presence commanding and handsome in a way that wasn’t fair.
As I stepped out of the car, his eyes lifted, locking onto mine.
For a moment, everything else, the fear, the doubts, the danger all faded.
It was just him.
And me.
“Tell me everything,” Dalton said as soon as we sat down inside, his voice low but steady.
So I did. I laid it all out, the clause, the shell company, the Ashcroft Group, my initials buried in the documents. My hands shook as I spoke, but I didn’t stop until the whole truth was on the table.
When I finally finished, I looked up, breathless. Dalton’s jaw was clenched, his eyes hard with fury.
“Why are you helping me?” he asked suddenly, his voice softer but cutting.
I froze.
“Because…” I swallowed. “Because it’s not fair. I don’t want to work in a place like this, with people like Carter. I can’t stomach it. And maybe…maybe I just don’t want to see you ruined. I need the job, yes. But my conscience won’t let me stay quiet.”
His eyes softened, but only a fraction.
“Don’t involve me any further,” I whispered. “I just wanted you to know. Please, Dalton. I’m not asking for anything. I just want to help.”
He leaned back slowly, studying me, his expression unreadable.
For a long moment, the room was silent.
Then his phone buzzed. He glanced at it, his face hardening again.
“Stay here,” he muttered. “I’ll be back.”
He stood, leaving me alone in the dimly lit room.
I sat frozen, my heart hammering in my chest.
And I realized whatever was about to happen next, my life was no longer mine alone.
- Writer
