The scent of blood and gunpowder clung to the air. The estate was eerily silent now, save for the distant rustling of the trees outside. Max stood tall despite the wound on his arm, his breathing slow and controlled. The pain barely registered.
His eyes remained locked on Hannah, who sat now, her hands bound behind her back. She had been stripped of her silk robe, left in the plain black dress beneath, her usual air of superiority fractured but not entirely gone.
Daniel had been taken away by Ray’s men, his groans of pain still echoing faintly in the hallway. His facade as a false son was over.
But this, this was the real battle.
Hannah. The mastermind. The venomous heart of it all.
Vivian stood just behind Max, her pulse hammering. She had seen a lot in her life, but never had she witnessed Max like this.
He was deadly. Silent. A man made of stone and vengeance.
Max reached for the chair opposite Hannah and sat down, exhaling slowly. His fingers curled against his knee, but he didn’t speak yet. He only stared.
Hannah smirked. “Come to gloat?”
Max’s lips didn’t so much as twitch. “Come to end this.”
Her smirk faltered.
Vivian took a step closer. “You have no way out, Hannah. No money, no power. It’s over.”
Hannah turned her gaze to her, eyes filled with something almost amused. “Oh, sweetheart,” she purred. “You don’t understand men like Max, do you?”
Vivian stiffened.
Hannah’s smirk returned. “He doesn’t want justice. He wants revenge.” She looked back at Max. “Tell me, son, how do you plan to do it? Will it be fast? Or slow?”
Max exhaled, leaning forward slightly. “I don’t need to kill you.”
Hannah’s smile didn’t falter, but something flickered in her eyes.
Max continued, voice smooth but lethal. “You’ve spent your whole life controlling things from behind. Pulling strings. Watching people squirm.” He leaned in just a fraction more. “What happens when you have nothing left to control?”
Hannah’s expression turned unreadable.
Max sat back. “You’re going to prison.”
A sharp laugh burst from Hannah’s lips. “You think that will break me?”
Max smiled then, cold and merciless. “Prison isn’t the worst thing I could do to you.”
Hannah’s fingers twitched against the bindings, but she masked it well.
Vivian folded her arms. “You won’t have money. No influence. No one will protect you.”
Max’s voice was like steel. “You will rot in a cell, forgotten, powerless. And the world will move on without you.”
Hannah’s jaw clenched. Silence stretched between them.
And for the first time, Max saw it.
The first crack in her carefully built facade.
The first flicker of fear.
She exhaled sharply. “If I go down, I take others with me.”
Max arched a brow. “You have nothing to bargain with.”
Hannah’s lips pressed together in a thin line.
Ray stepped forward, clearing his throat. “Boss, we should move. We don’t want her slipping through the cracks.”
Max nodded. “Take her.”
Hannah lifted her chin. “You’ll regret this.”
Max’s gaze didn’t waver. “No. I won’t.”
Ray’s men moved in, dragging her to her feet. She didn’t struggle-not physically. But her eyes burned with unspoken threats as they led her away.
And just like that-Hannah was gone.
Max exhaled slowly, rolling his shoulders. The weight of it all should have felt lighter now.
But it didn’t. Because it wasn’t just the end.
Not yet.
******
Max and Vivian returned to the suite in the dead of night.
The silence was deafening.
Vivian moved first, grabbing the first-aid kit. She motioned for him to sit.
Max didn’t argue. He sat down on the couch, letting her kneel beside him.
She worked quickly, cleaning the wound on his arm. Her fingers were gentle but her expression was anything but.
“You could have died,” she muttered.
Max studied her. “I didn’t.”
Vivian’s jaw tightened. “That’s not the point.”
Silence stretched between them again.
She finished wrapping the bandage, her movements stiff. “I don’t know how to feel,” she admitted, voice quieter now.
Max leaned back slightly. “About what?”
Vivian looked up, eyes raw. “About all of it.”
Max didn’t answer right away. He just watched her.
She exhaled. “I should feel relieved. Hannah’s out of the way for now, the truth is out. But…” She hesitated. “What now?”
Max reached forward, brushing his fingers along her jaw. “We move forward.”
Vivian swallowed hard. “Together?”
His gaze darkened, filled with something heavy. “If you want that.”
Vivian’s breath hitched. “And if I do?”
Max leaned in slightly. “Then you’re mine.”
Her heart skipped.
He wasn’t just talking about tonight.
He wasn’t talking about just being together.
He was talking about forever.
Vivian exhaled shakily. “You still want that? After everything?”
Max’s jaw ticked. “Six years, Vivian. I lost six years with you already. With Emma.” His voice turned gravelly, thick. “You think I want that again?”
Vivian felt her throat tighten. “Max-”
He kissed her.
Fierce. Desperate. Raw.
Vivian gasped, her fingers brushing in his hair as he pulled her against him, claiming her.
He needed her.
And she needed him.
His hands slid over her waist, pulling her onto his lap. The kiss deepened, hunger twisting between them.
Vivian moaned against his lips, pressing closer.
But just as quickly Max pulled back, breathing hard.
Vivian blinked, dazed. “What-”
Max rested his forehead against hers. “If we keep going, I won’t stop.”
Vivian’s cheeks flushed.
She exhaled shakily. “I don’t want you to stop.”
Max’s grip on her tightened.
But then-
A soft voice interrupted.
“Mommy?”
Vivian froze.
Max turned his head, spotting the small figure in the hallway.
Emma.
The little girl rubbed her sleepy eyes, her curls wild from sleep. She was clutching a small stuffed bear.
Vivian’s heart nearly dropped.
She quickly climbed off Max’s lap, moving toward Emma. “Baby, what are you doing awake?”
Emma blinked at her, then at Max.
She pouted. “I had a bad dream.”
Vivian’s chest ached. “Oh, sweetheart.” She bent down, brushing Emma’s hair back. “Come here.”
Emma hesitated-then, slowly, her gaze drifted to Max.
Vivian followed her daughter’s gaze and felt her breath catch.
Emma was watching him. Studying him.
Vivian’s heart pounded.
And then-Emma did something neither of them expected.
She walked past Vivian and stopped right in front of Max.
Max tensed. “Emma…”
Emma hesitated then lifted her arms, wanting him to carry her.
Max’s chest tightened. She was so small. So innocent.
And she was his daughter.
Slowly, carefully, Max reached forward, lifting her into his arms.
Emma curled against his chest with a soft sigh, pressing her cheek to his shoulder.
Vivian swallowed a sob.
Max held his daughter for the first time.
He closed his eyes. And for the first time in years, he felt whole.
This was home.
And he would never lose them again.
Not now. Not ever.