?Chapter 7:

If she wouldn’t listen, he’d make her. Today, she’d pay for that disrespect. He raised his hand, ready to strike — but before it could fall, Maia’s hand shot up and caught his wrist, stopping him cold.

With one swift motion, she shoved him hard. Jarrod stumbled backward, nearly losing his bnce. He stared, stunned, at the woman standing before him. The person he saw now felt like a stranger.

The Maia he remembered had always trailed after him when he asionally visited home, like a little shadow.

But that version of her no longer existed. Four years behind bars had carved out someone sharper, someone who stood on her own.

Where had this strengthe from?

He couldn’t say.

Back in her early days in prison, Maia faced constant bullying and abuse — fresh bruises forming before the old ones even had a chance to fade.

Still, she never cried for help. Never lowered her head.

One day, pushed too far, she snapped. With pure rage, she sank her teeth into the prison’s top dog and wrestled her to the floor. Blow after blownded on her back, but Maia never let go.

Over time, and with Zoey’s relentless training, Maia sharpened her instincts and became a fighter no one dared to provoke.

Eventually, the threats faded. She’d earned both her ce and their fear.

Jarrod stayed put, cing himself between Maia and Rosanna, his re sharp and unyielding.

“Maia, you’vepletely lost it! We’re talking about some old clothes and random junk — nothing worth a fight! And you hit Rosanna over that? Apologize. Now!”

Maia’s sudden outburst caught Sandra off guard. After a short pause, she wrapped Rosanna in her arms, worry etched across her face.

She red furiously at Maia as she said, “I’m the one who gave permission to throw out your things! Rosanna only meant well. She was going to buy everything back — new and fresh — so you wouldn’t be haunted by the past! But you? You didn’t just reject that. You hit her! After everything, I never thought you’d sink this low. Maia, you’ve truly disappointed me!”

Disappointed? A coldugh slipped from Maia’s lips.

That same line had been used four years ago — right after they framed her. They’d shielded Rosanna back then too. And Maia? She’d been the target. If anyone deserved to feel disappointed, it was Maia. She had already buried everyst bit of hope she once held for the Morgan family.

Her eyes settled on Sandra — the woman she used to call ‘Mom.’

There was a time Maia loved and respected Sandra, even if Sandra rarely showed she cared. Now, that love twisted into something sharp in her chest.

“You’ve always known I can’t stand people touching my belongings,” Maia said, her voice tight with restraint. “And still, you let her throw them out. Did you even realize that Vicki’s bracelet was among them?”

Sandra had always been busy and seldom paid attention to Maia’s life, but this particr habit of Maia’s was something she knew clearly. But when it came to Rosanna, Sandra’s judgment blurred.

Years of guilt over being absent in Rosanna’s life made her ovepensate. And when Rosanna wanted something, Sandra never said no.

For more than ten years, Maia had lived the life that should’ve been Rosanna’s — or so Sandra believed. So what harm was there in throwing out a few of her things?

To Sandra, even if Rosanna had been the one who stole the treasure from Radiant Jewels, she still thought that Maia should’ve taken the me. That thought alone washed away any lingering guilt Sandra had ever felt toward her.

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