THE THREAT
1238 Words
I didn't sleep that night.
I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, Marcus Sterling's voice echoing in my head. Your mother. She died alone. No one with her.
He had no right to say her name. No right to use her as a weapon. But he had, and I had let him, and that was the part that kept me awake.
I should have said something. Should have thrown him out faster. Should have called Helen, called Webb, called someone who could do something.
Instead, I had stood there, shaking, while Julian held my hands.
Julian.
I closed my eyes, trying to focus on the warmth of his hands instead of the cold in Marcus's voice. Julian had been steady. Solid. He hadn't asked questions. He hadn't pushed. He had just stood there, holding my hands, until I stopped shaking.
Then he'd walked me to my car and told me to go home.
"You're not alone," he'd said again.
I wanted to believe him. But I had believed Daniel once, too. I had believed my father would come back. I had believed my mother would get better. I had believed a lot of things that turned out to be lies.
Trusting people was not something I was good at anymore.
---
The next morning, I went to see Helen.
Her office was in the Loop, on the thirty-second floor of a building that smelled like old money and new ambition. The receptionist knew my name. The coffee was good. Helen's assistant walked me back without making me wait.
Helen was at her desk, reading something on her computer. She looked up when I walked in.
"You look terrible," she said.
"Thank you."
"Sit." She gestured to the chair across from her desk. "What happened?"
I told her. The studio. Marcus. The threats. The way he'd said my mother's name.
Helen listened without interrupting. When I finished, she sat back in her chair and let out a long breath.
"He mentioned your mother," she said.
"Yes."
"By name."
"Yes."
Helen's eyes were cold. "That was a mistake."
"He was trying to scare me."
"He did scare you." Helen leaned forward. "But he also gave us something."
"What?"
"Intent." She pulled a legal pad toward her. "Marcus Sterling walked into your place of business, threatened you, and referenced your deceased mother in an attempt to intimidate you. That's harassment. Possibly witness intimidation, depending on how we frame it."
"Can we use it?"
"We can use all of it." She wrote something down. "But we need to be careful. Marcus Sterling has been playing this game longer than we have. He's not going to make a mistake like that again."
"What if he does?"
Helen smiled. It wasn't a nice smile.
"Then we make sure we're there to catch it."
---
I left Helen's office feeling better.
Not safe. Not confident. But better. Helen was a weapon I didn't know how to use, but she knew how to aim.
I was halfway back to the studio when my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I almost didn't answer. But something made me swipe the screen.
"Hello?"
"Maya Chen." The voice was male, unfamiliar. "This is Detective Reyes. Chicago Police Department. I need to speak with you."
My heart stopped.
"About what?"
"A report was filed this morning. Allegations of harassment and threats made against you." There was a pause. "The report was filed by Marcus Sterling."
I pulled over. Parked. Gripped the steering wheel.
"He filed a report against me?"
"He claims you threatened him. In your studio. Yesterday afternoon."
"That's not what happened."
"That may be. But I need to hear your side." Another pause. "Can you come downtown this afternoon? Say, two o'clock?"
I closed my eyes. Marcus Sterling had walked into my studio, threatened me, mentioned my mother, and then filed a police report saying I was the one who had done the threatening.
He was trying to discredit me before I could even make my case.
"Yes," I said. "I'll be there."
---
I called Helen from the car.
"Marcus filed a police report," I said. "He's claiming I threatened him."
There was a moment of silence. Then Helen laughed.
"He's scared," she said.
"Doesn't feel like scared."
"It should." Her voice was sharp. "Marcus Sterling has been untouchable for forty years. He doesn't file police reports. He has people who make problems disappear. The fact that he went to the police means he doesn't know what else to do."
"He's trying to discredit me."
"He's trying to scare you. And it's working."
I gripped the steering wheel. "What do I do?"
"Go to the station. Tell the truth. Don't let him see you're scared."
"And if they believe him?"
"They won't. You have Julian. You have Lena. You have the fact that Marcus Sterling has never filed a police report in his life." Helen paused. "This is a gift, Maya. He's showing us his cards."
"His cards?"
"He's desperate. He's scared. And when men like Marcus Sterling get scared, they make mistakes." Her voice softened. "Go to the station. Tell the truth. And then come see me. We have work to do."
---
The station was in the West Loop, a gray building that looked like every other government building I'd ever been in.
Detective Reyes was waiting for me in the lobby. She was a Latina woman in her forties, with sharp eyes and a calm voice. She led me to a small room with a table and two chairs.
"You're not under arrest," she said, as we sat down. "This is just a conversation."
"I understand."
"Tell me what happened."
I told her. The studio. Marcus walking in. The threats. The way he'd mentioned my mother. The way he'd said she died alone.
Reyes listened without interrupting.
"You didn't file a report yourself," she said, when I finished.
"No."
"Why not?"
I hesitated. "I didn't think anyone would believe me."
"Because he's Marcus Sterling."
"Yes."
Reyes nodded slowly. "He's filed a report claiming you threatened him. That you said you would 'destroy his family' if he didn't give you money."
"I never said that."
"I know." She pulled a piece of paper from her folder. "Mr. Sterling has never filed a police report in his life. Not for trespassing. Not for theft. Not for anything. Now, suddenly, he's filing one against a wedding designer."
She looked at me.
"What's really going on here, Ms. Chen?"
I met her eyes.
"I'm his son's wife," I said. "He's been hiding it for five years. And now he's trying to make sure no one believes me."
Reyes studied me for a long moment.
Then she closed her folder.
"I'm going to close this case," she said. "No evidence of threats from either side. It's a he-said-she-said, and neither of you has a history of this kind of behavior."
"What about Marcus?"
"He'll be told the case is closed." She stood up. "But Ms. Chen? Be careful. Men like Marcus Sterling don't like being challenged. He's shown you what he's capable of. Next time, it might be worse."
I stood up too. "Thank you, Detective."
She walked me to the door. Paused.
"Your mother," she said. "She died alone?"
I nodded.
Reyes's expression softened. "I'm sorry. No one should have to go through that alone."
I didn't know what to say. So I just nodded again and walked out.
- Writer
