Chapter 50
MAX
Liam’s jaw tightened, the internal struggle evident in his eyes. “You’ve taken everything from me!” he screamed. “The marina! My daughter! My legacy! You’ve taken what I’ve spent my entire life putting together.”
I could see the hatred in his eyes, a deep-seated resentment that had been festering for months. He blamed me for corrupting his daughter; for bringing her into a world he’d fought so hard to shield her from.
“You made a choice, Liam,” I said, my voice steady despite the pounding of my heart—the pulse he was moments away from stopping. “You chose this life, just like I did. You know what will come of this.”
He lowered the gun but didn’t holster it.
Instead he paced the room once more, running a hand through his hair.
“You think I don’t know that?” he growled, stopping to stare at me.
“You think I haven’t considered the consequences?
” Suddenly, his anger reached its peak. “I have spent the past few weeks trying to get back what was mine, and I’m not leaving until I have it. ”
I coughed up a bit of blood and spat it out onto the floor. “The marina, or your daughter?” I asked.
Liam’s face twisted with rage, his knuckles white around the gun. “Don’t you dare put those two together. One is business, the other is blood.”
“Both seem pretty tangled.”
His eyes narrowed. “You think you can take my daughter’s loyalty too? You think she’ll stand by you?”
Did I really stand a chance? Rosalie didn’t trust me no matter how many reasons I gave her to believe me.
Every promise, every act, seemed to fall on deaf ears.
I’d always known that one way or another, my life would eventually be in her hands.
I’d hoped when the time came, I’d have earned enough of her trust to prove myself to her.
I was supposed to have been a married man ten minutes ago. Rosalie wasn’t going to come looking for me. She was going to make sure she’d never have to see my face again after I’d humiliated her like this.
Blood trickled down from my eyebrow. I lifted my tied hands and wiped it away with the back of my wrist, feeling the sharp sting.
Then the rusted warehouse door creaked open on its hinges, and Sean stepped inside, his eyes darting between me and Liam. He saw my hands tied with wire, and the barrel of Liam’s gun facing me.
What the hell was he doing here?
“Sean,” Liam growled, “this doesn’t concern you. Leave—now.”
Sean didn’t budge. Instead he slowly raised his hands, palms out, and stepped closer to me.
“Liam, listen to me,” he began, his voice measured.
“This doesn’t have to play out like this.
You’ll be sending the Romanos after us like flies to a carcass if you kill him, and without Max, you know they won’t spare your daughter. ”
Liam’s eyes flicked to Sean and then back to me. “You think there’s a way out for him after everything he’s done? After everything he’s taken?”
“Think about Rose,” Sean continued, his voice almost pleading. He too knew I was about to die. “She wouldn’t want his. This isn’t what she needs, and you know that.”
The mention of Rosalie seemed to hit its mark. Liam’s hand tightened around the gun, his knuckles turning white once more. I watched him, trying to gauge his next move, knowing everything was hanging by a thread.
“This is what she needs. She begged me to find a way out of this marriage. This is how I’m going to do it.”
My eyes slammed shut.
How had it come to this? I’d tried so hard, hadn’t I? I replayed every conversation and every gesture, searching for the missteps; the moments I could have done better. But it all seemed so futile now.
Maybe it was my fault for thinking I could change her mind.
Maybe I’d overestimated my ability to make her see the truth.
Or maybe, deep down, I’d always known no matter what I did, it would never be enough.
Rosalie had built walls around her heart, and I’d been na?ve to think I could tear them down.
Her distrust had been a problem since the beginning, and I’d be a dead man in a matter of seconds.
Then Sean appeared at my side, his movements quick. He was determined to untangle the wire binding my wrists together.
Why was he helping me? Did he want to get himself killed?
Liam’s voice cut through the air. “What the hell are you doing, Sean?”
Sean didn’t answer right away, his focus solely on untangling the wire. It cut deep into my skin as he worked, but I could hardly feel the pain anymore. My heart was pounding in my chest, and my mind raced to catch up.
“Sean, stop,” Liam demanded. His face was contorted with rage, but there was something else in his eyes—doubt, and maybe even betrayal.
Sean didn’t hesitate, finally pulling the last of the wire free from my wrists. My hands throbbed with pain. I flexed my fingers, trying to shake off the numbness.
The gun in Liam’s hand moved down slightly, and I dared to hope that maybe, just maybe, Sean was getting through to him. My family would spare none of the Clarkes, and that included Rosalie.
Liam’s face twisted as I watched him closely, trying to gauge his reactions.
To be honest, I wasn’t sure there was a way out of this.
Liam wouldn’t be happy until I was dead—that much was certain.
He needed my death like he needed air; like he needed to prove he was still in control, still the one calling the shots. But he wasn’t, and neither was I.
Sean moved slightly, positioning himself between Liam and me. “Liam,” he begged, “think this through.”
But then Liam moved, the gun in his hand steadying as he pointed the barrel at me again.
My heart sank as I realized he’d made his decision.