?Chapter 80:


    Before Maia could finish the question, the boy answered quietly, his voice rough and low, “This is where I live.”


    Turning her gaze to the shack, Maia felt a jolt of difort. The ce looked like a strong wind could rip it apart.


    She hesitated before asking, “What should I call you?”


    With dry lips, the boy swallowed and replied, “Ethan Watson.”


    That name caught Maia off guard, a small smile flickering onto her face. “No kidding? I’m Maia Watson.”


    At that moment, a faint voice came from inside the shack. “Ethan, is that you?”


    The boy lifted his eyes to meet Maia’s, hesitation clear in his expression. Before he could say anything, Maia interjected, “Go on. It’ste. I won’t keep you.”


    The teenager pressed his lips into a tight line, stayed silent, gave a small nod, and turned to step inside the shack.


    Maia gazed at the worn-down shack in front of her, let out a soft sigh, and decided that she would return the next day to properly show her thanks.


    By the time Maia made it home, the men Maxwell had sent to trail her had already returned to report.


    Hearing their ount nearly made Maxwell drop the drink in his hand. “Hold up. You’re telling me one woman took down three full-grown men and made them run like scared kids? Honestly, what the hell did I just hear?”


    Maxwell was taken aback. Only professional underground fighters could even dream of pulling off something like that.


    Nodding furiously, Maxwell’s men looked just as rattled. They exined that back in that alley, they had been ready to jump in — but Maia had moved faster than their eyes could track. Two ck-d men were already down before they could even blink.


    Later, instead of escaping when she had the chance, a teenage boy had shown up, trying to drag her to safety. But after a few whispered words from Maia, she turned right back around and willingly handed herself over to those thugs. Sensing that there was more to the n, Maxwell’s men decided against stepping in.


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    They trailed her all the way to a crumbling shack on the edge of the slums. Then came the sounds of bones cracking and men screaming like banshees. The three guys inside were getting wrecked.


    Standing outside, Maxwell’s men exchanged wide-eyed looks, asking themselves, “Wait… are we supposed to be protecting her, or should we be running for our lives too?”


    Maxwell pinched the bridge of his nose, overwhelmed by what he was hearing. “No wonder Chris ended up marrying her. With skills like that? Yeah, it all adds up. Itpletely makes sense. They’re both total lunatics,” Maxwell muttered to himself.


    Maxwell rubbed the back of his neck, wondering what kind of mess Chris’s wife had stirred up this time.


    Someone had actually dared to make a move on her inside the ck market of all ces. Out there, rules meant nothing. People vanished every day, and no one so much as raised an eyebrow.


    A hit like that wasn’t for show. It was a clear message — they wanted her gone. Squinting at the thought, Maxwell mulled over whether he should tip Chris off.


    After a minute of weighing the options, he decided that it wasn’t worth it. Whatever drama Chris and Maia dragged in was none of his concern. Maxwell knew better than to get himself burned over someone else’s fire. Besides, from the looks of it, Maia didn’t exactly need a bodyguard.


    Meanwhile, at the Morgan family vi, dinner had ended in a mess no one could clean up.


    Richard and Sandra had intended to sit Rosanna down for a serious talk. But the moment they saw her swollen face and the tears clinging to hershes, every word died on their tongues.


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