Chapter 6 - The Devil's Proposal
That night, I didn't sleep a wink. I stared at the ceiling of my drafty apartment, holding Ava close against my chest, turning Reed Callaway’s business card over and over in my fingers. The address on the card wasn't the restaurant; it was a high-rise penthouse overlooking Lake Michigan—a fortress of glass and steel where men like Reed ruled their empires.
What did a dangerous mafia boss want with a broke single mother who couldn't even afford formula?
The next morning, I arranged for Mrs. Perez to watch Ava for a few hours—paying her twenty dollars upfront from my meager savings—and took the CTA train downtown. When I stepped out into the biting wind, the massive black skyscraper loomed above me like a monument to power.
Up in the penthouse, the interior was minimalist, sleek, and bathed in gray winter light. Reed sat behind a massive glass desk, looking out over the frozen lake. He didn't offer me a seat right away.
“You’re punctual,” Reed noted, turning his chair around to face me. “I like that.”
“What is this about, Mr. Callaway?” I asked, refusing to dance around the subject. My nerves were stretched to a breaking point. “If you’re going to fire me from the restaurant, just do it. But don't play games with me.”
Reed stood up, walking slowly toward me with that quiet, predator-like grace. “I don't play games, Maya. I solve problems. And right now, we both have a problem.”
“What problem could we possibly share?” I asked incredulously.
“Your ex-boyfriend, Marcus, stole a very large sum of money from my associates before fleeing to Phoenix,” Reed said calmly, watching my reaction like a hawk. “And you happen to be the only person in Chicago who knows the aliases he uses to hide his offshore accounts.”
My jaw dropped. The photographs on his desk yesterday... they weren't just background checks; they were hunting notices.
“I haven't spoken to Marcus in over a year,” I said quickly, backing up a step. “He left before Ava was born. I don't know anything about his accounts!”
“You lived with him for three years, Maya. People leave digital breadcrumbs,” Reed replied smoothly, closing the distance between us until I could feel the heat radiating from him. “Here is my proposal. You help me track down where Marcus hid those funds, and I will wipe out every single debt you currently owe—your rent, your utilities, your grocery bills for a year. Furthermore, I will set up a protected trust fund for Ava.”
May you like
I stared at him in absolute disbelief. “And if I refuse?”
Reed’s gray eyes darkened, the temperature in the room plunging. “Then you go back to scraping by on eleven dollars and seventy cents, praying Elena doesn't notice your next mistake, while Marcus continues living comfortably on money that isn't his. The choice is yours.”
