Chapter 27
-Maya’s POV-
The world seemed to tilt on its axis. The phone felt heavy in my hand, suddenly a foreign object.
“What?” I whispered, the single word escaping my lips in a ragged breath.
The line went dead before I could say anything else. I stared at the phone screen, numb, the gravity
of Ivan’s words sinking in.
“Amaya? What’s wrong?” Natalia’s voice cut through the fog of confusion clouding my mind. Her
hand shot out to grip mine, “What happened?”
I looked at her, my mouth working soundlessly for a moment. “My father. He has been arrested.
Ivan just called. The FBI… they’re investigating him for something.”
Her eyebrows shot up in surprise, “Does he know what it’s about?”
1 shook my head slowly, the room feeling like it was closing in on me. “No. He just said they’re
investigating him. He’sing to pick me up.”
A flicker of worry crossed her face. “Do you w
want me toe with you?” she asked. “Maybe it would be better if you weren’t alone.”
“No. I need to handle this myself. Thank you, though, Natalia. For everything and you too Nathan.”
I know he had gone quiet just like he always did when Natalia and I were having our moment. He
nodded giving me a tight smile, “Anytime, Maya.”
Natalia pulled me into a tight hug, her embrace a silent reassurance in the face of the unknown.
“Call me when you know more. And whatever happens, you know I’m here for you.”
I clung to her for a moment longer, drawing strength from her unwavering support. Then, I pulled
back, wiping at the tears that had welled up in my eyes. Taking a deep breath, I forced myself to
focus. My father needed me, no matter how much I considered him a monster sometimes and
whatever ho’d gotten himself into, I had to be there for him.
“I gotta go,” I told them, my voice thick with emotion. “Ivan’s on his way.”
Nathan nodded, her gaze filled with understanding. “We wille see youter.”
I offered her a watery smile, then turned and headed for the door. As I stepped out into the cool
night air, a shiver ran down my spine.
The drive with Ivan was tense and silent. He gripped the steering wheel tightly, knuckles white, his
jaw clenched with suppressed anger. I stole a nce at him once, but he kept his gaze fixed on the
road ahead, a storm brewing behind his normally calm eyes. He hadn’t said a single word to me
since he picked me up and the tension in the car was killing.
“What do you know?” I finally broke the silence, About what’s happening I mean.”
He let out a frustrated sigh, finally turning his head towards me for a brief moment. “Not much. I got
a call from a friend in the force. Apparently, there’s been an investigation into your father’s business
dealings for a while now. Something about moneyundering, maybe more.”
My stomach lurched. Moneyundering? The usation sounded surreal, something ripped from a
bad crime movie. “Moneyundering? But… that doesn’t make any sense. I know my father might
be an a** h o e but he is a good businessman, a sessful one. Why would-
“I don’t know, Amaya,” He interrupted, his voiceced with frustration. “That’s what we’re going to
find out, I guess.”
The rest of the ride passed in a blur. My mind raced with questions, anxieties, and a growing sense
of betrayal. How could my father be involved in something like this? And how much of it was true?
Chapter 27
When we finally pulled up in front of my father’s house, a swarm of police cars and yellow crime
scene tape greeted us. The sight of it sent a fresh wave of panic crashing over me. This was
serious. This wasn’t some misunderstanding.
Ivan parked the car a few houses down, a silent agreement to avoid drawing unnecessary attention.
He took my hand in his, his grip firm yetforting. “We’ll go in together. “But be prepared. Things
might be… chaotic.”
I nodded, my throat constricting with a mixture of fear and a strange sense of detachment. Taking a
deep, shaky breath, I steeled myself for whatever. awaited us inside. As ivan and Lapproached the
house, a police officer materialized at the door, his gaze flickering between us with suspicion.
“Can help you?” he asked curtly.
“I’m Amaya Stone,” I said, forcing my voice to remain calm. “This is my husband, Ivan McCall. It’s
my father’s house and I need to get inside.”
The officer’s eyes narrowed slightly. He studied us for a beat, then stopped aside, allowing us to
enter the house. The first thing that hit me was the chaos. Furniture was overturned, drawers hung
open, papers were s c a e r e d everywhere. It looked like a tornado had ripped through the ce.
In the living room, a group of officers were questioning my mother. Her eyes were red-rimmed and
swollen, her normallyposed face etched with worry and fear. When she saw me, a flicker of
relief crossed her features.
“Amaya!” she cried, rushing towards me. She threw her arms around me, holding me tight as if
afraid I might disappear. “Thank goodness you’re here.”
I froze at first. I knew we both needed each other at this moment and she must be going out of her
mind but still, it felt foreign. Seeing her like this. Uneasily, I hugged her back, the familiar scent of
her perfume doing little to dispel the sense of unease that had settled deep within me. “What’s going
on?” I whispered. “Where’s father?”
She pulled back slightly, wiping at her tears with a trembling hand. “They took him,” she said, her
voice h o a r s e. “The FBI. They said he was… involved in some kind of illegal activities. Money
laundering, they mentioned.”
“But… how?”
“I don’t know,” She interrupted, her voice cracking with despair. “I haven’t known what to think. They
wouldn’t tell me anything. Just took him away.”
Ivan stepped forward, cing a hand on my shoulder as if sensing my growing unease. “We should
let your mom get some rest,” he said gently. “We can try to find out more about your father in the
morning”
My mother clung to my hand, her eyes pleading. “Don’t leave me alone, Amaya.”
The weight of her fear settled on me like a heavy cloak. With a heavy heart, I squeezed her hand
back. “We’ll stay,” I promised, the words tasting foreign
on my tongue.
As Ivan went to help himself to a ss of water, I found myself drawn to a framed photograph on
the mantle. The three of us stood together even though it looked forced but still, we stood together.N?velDrama.Org owns this text.
A lump formed in my throat. Suddenly, the weight of the night’s events pressed down on me with
renewed force. Alex, my marriage, and now this- my father’s arrest hanging like a dark cloud over
everything. Exhaustion washed over me, a heavy wave that threatened to pull me under.
I’m so tired, Mom,” I mumbled, my voice thick with emotion.
She reached out and pulled me into a tight embrace. “I know. I am too. But we’ll get through this
together.
I nodded then for the first time I could remember since I was born, wrapped my hands around her
until she fell asleep.
The night stretched on endlessly. Most of the officers had gone but I knew they would be back. With
how hot it was, they wouldn’t let us see him. Ivan busied himself with phone calls and before she fell
herself, my mother had told me that hiswyers were working on getting ahead of whatever it was
and we would be able to see him soon.
Ivan moved closer, “There’s not much I can find out tonight,” he admitted, his voiceced with
disappointment. “Everything’s pretty locked down. But I’ll keep trying in the morning.”
A heavy silence descended upon us, thick and suffocating. Wo stared at eat other for a moment,
lost in our own thoughts. Finally, I opened my mouth to speak, “Ivan-”
He cut me off with a gentle shake of his head. “We can talk about itter, Amaya. Really, now is not
the time or the ce.”
I swallowed hard, a lump forming in my throat. Closing my eyes brielly, I squeezed them shut tight,
wishing for a moment of peace amidst the chaos swirling around me. When I opened them again,
my gaze fell back to him. He was staring intently at me, and for the first time that night, I truly saw
him. Dark circles hung beneath his eyes, his face etched with fatigue. A pang of guilt stabbed at me.
Here he was, trying to be strong for me, for my family, and I knew I was the reason for the
exhaustion etched on his features.
This man had been nothing like what I’d expected when we got married. He didn’t deserve this, all
this stress and worry because of my messy life.
Before I could stop myself, the words tumbled out of my mouth, a confession I knew I couldn’t hold
back any longer. “Alex,” I blurted out, “Alex Thorne… he’s the father of my children.”