Chapter 75

Chapter 75
MADDIE

The morning broke with a deceptive sense of peace.

Sunlight poured through the windows of the daycare, casting warm golden light over the colorful play mats and tiny wooden chairs. Julian sat at one of the low tables, quietly sipping coffee while pressing a cold compress against his bruised jaw. Mrs. Smith was carefully wrapping a clean bandage over his knuckles, while Annie and Mr. Smith stood nearby, holding warm mugs.

Looking at them, the heavy confession from last night still echoed in my mind. When I had finally broken down and revealed everything—my real name, my fake identity, and my nightmare of a marriage to Hades Grant—I had braced myself for their anger and disgust. I thought they would turn me away for dragging his storm to their doorstep.

Instead, Mrs. Smith had pulled me into a tight embrace, whispering that I was a brave girl who had simply run for her safety. Mr. Smith had firmly declared that they didn't care about billionaire titles or corporate games, and Annie had vowed to stand by me.

"First thing today, we gather the town council," Annie said, breaking the quiet morning air with a resolute tone. "We tell them Grant Enterprises is trying to force a buyout under pressure. We rally everyone before his lawyers can make another move."

"Annie's right," Mr. Smith agreed, setting his coffee down on the counter. "Oakridge isn't just a piece of paper on a corporate desk. We've built this community with our own hands over generations. If Hades Grant thinks he can buy our town just to cage a woman who escaped him, he's severely underestimating us."

Julian leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees as he winced slightly. "We need to act fast. He released us last night because Maddie's words hit him, but a man like that won't stay down for long. Once the shock wears off, he will use every move in his playbook."

I looked around the room at their tired, bruised, yet unwavering faces. For months, I had lived under the shadow of Hades' power, believing his reach was absolute. But looking at Julian, Annie, and the Smiths, I realized something vital. Hades had money, bodyguards, and endless influence. But he was alone.

And for the first time in my life, I wasn't.

"Thank you," I whispered, wiping a stray tear from my cheek. "I won't let him ruin this place. I swear I won't."

Mrs. Smith squeezed my hand warmly. "We're in this together, child. Now, let's—"

That brief moment of unity vanished when the front door jangled open.

Instead of a parent dropping off a toddler, a man dressed in a sharp, formal uniform with a city government badge clipped to his lapel stepped into the room. He held a thick stack of heavy white envelopes under his arm.

"Oakridge Community Daycare?" the officer asked, scanning the room before locking eyes with Annie.

"Yes," Annie replied slowly, setting down her mug and stepping forward. "Can we help you?"

"I'm delivering official notices from the city government," the officer said in a clipped, professional tone. He pulled an envelope from his stack and handed it to Annie. "A mandatory town meeting has been called by Mayor Gordon Clinton for tomorrow morning at nine o'clock at the Oakridge Civic Center. Every property owner, business holder, and resident is required to attend."

Annie took the envelope, her brow furrowing. "A town meeting? What is this about?"

"The Mayor will address all questions tomorrow," the officer said simply before turning on his heel. "Have a good day."

We watched through the window as the officer walked down the street, stopping at every shop and every house, handing out the exact same white envelopes.

Julian pulled the letter from Annie’s trembling hands and tore it open. He read the bold, embossed print aloud, his voice dropping into a dangerous hush.

"Notice of Public Hearing: Oakridge Urban Rehabilitation and Infrastructure Modernization Project."

Julian let out a harsh, bitter laugh and slammed the paper onto the table. "He beat us to it."

"What?" Annie blinked, looking between Julian and me.

"Hades," Julian muttered, his eyes dark with fury. "We were planning to rally the town council today, but Hades didn't just contact the local council. He went straight to the Mayor. He bribed, pressured, or bought off city hall overnight. He’s moving faster than we ever could."

My blood ran cold. Yesterday, Hades was a looming threat in the dark. Today, he was using the power of the government to corner us in broad daylight.

The following morning, the Oakridge Civic Center was packed to absolute capacity.

The air inside the auditorium was suffocating, thick with the nervous chatter of hundreds of townspeople. Homeowners, local shopkeepers, farmers, and elders sat side-by-side on the wooden benches. Julian, Annie, the Smiths, and I squeezed into a row near the back. I pulled my sweater sleeve tight over my knuckles, trying to stay invisible, but my heart was hammering violently against my ribs.

At precisely nine o'clock, Mayor Gordon Clinton stepped onto the stage.

He was a polished man in his mid-fifties, wearing a tailored suit that looked entirely too expensive for our modest district. Behind him, two large projector screens lit up, displaying high-definition blueprints and glossy 3D renders of a futuristic city landscape.

"Good morning, citizens of Oakridge," Mayor Clinton spoke into the microphone, his voice booming with forced warmth. "I know many of you are wondering why you were called here on such short notice. Today, I am proud to announce a monumental turning point for our community."

He gestured toward the screens behind him.

"For decades, Oakridge has been overlooked. But thanks to a historic private-public partnership with Grant Enterprises, our town has been selected for the Oakridge Revitalization Project."

A murmur rippled through the crowd at the mention of Grant Enterprises. I felt Julian stiffen beside me.

"This is a multi-billion-dollar infrastructure overhaul," Mayor Clinton continued passionately, tapping a remote control. The screen shifted to show sleek glass skyscrapers, sprawling commercial hubs, paved highways, and state-of-the-art medical facilities replacing our dirt roads, old wooden shops, and rolling green hills. "We are talking about modern housing, underground utilities, and thousands of high-paying jobs. A total economic rebirth!"

"Rebirth?!" Mr. Miller, an elderly blacksmith who owned the hardware shop down the street, stood up angrily. "You’re talking about flattening our town! What happens to our homes? Our shops?!"

A chorus of furious shouts erupted throughout the room.

"We don't want your concrete!" "Where are we supposed to live?!" "You're selling us out to corporate sharks!" "Oakridge isn't for sale!"

The room erupted into chaos. Townspeople were standing on their feet, shouting, waving their fists in protest. The noise was deafening, a wall of pure anger from people who saw their entire lives about to be erased by bulldozers.

Mayor Clinton raised his hands calmly, offering a smooth, practiced smile that chilled me to the bone. He raised the microphone back to his lips.

"Please, everyone, quiet down and hear the full proposition," the Mayor said, his voice dripping with smooth persuasion. "We knew you would have concerns about relocation. And that is why Grant Enterprises has offered a settlement package unprecedented in the history of this city."

The screens changed again, displaying massive figures and financial breakdowns.

"Every property owner who signs the transfer agreement will receive cash compensation at three times the current market value of their land," Mayor Clinton announced, pausing as a collective gasp echoed through the crowd. "And that is not all. In addition to the payout, every family will be granted immediate ownership of a premium residential unit in the newly built high-rise towers across the city center. Fully furnished. Zero mortgage."

The loud, furious shouts instantly died down into a heavy, stunned silence.

I looked around the room and felt a sickening drop in my stomach. The anger that had filled the auditorium moments ago was suddenly dissolving, replaced by hesitant glances between neighbors, widening eyes, and quiet, conflicted whispers.

Money that could change their lives forever. A modern luxury apartment in the heart of the city.

Hades wasn't just trying to buy the land—he was systematically breaking the town's unity from the inside out. He knew that every person had a breaking point, and he had just handed Oakridge an offer almost too tempting to refuse.

Amidst the deafening noise of the arguing crowd, a sharp vibration echoed against my thigh.

I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone. The screen illuminated with a series of digits—an unfamiliar, unknown number. My breath hitched in my throat. Julian gave me a questioning look, but I gave his hand a quick squeeze and murmured, "I need to step outside for a second."

I slipped away from our row and pushed through the heavy wooden double doors of the auditorium, escaping into the quiet, chilly hallway. The muffled shouts of the townspeople died down behind me.

With a trembling finger, I slid the icon across the screen and brought the phone to my ear.

"Hello?" I whispered, my voice barely carrying in the corridor.

"Maddie..."

The sound of his voice made my heart stop. It wasn't the cold, imposing, terrifying billionaire who had cornered me at the villa, nor was it the arrogant titan of Grant Enterprises. It was a voice filled with raw, desperate agony, thick and ragged with exhaustion.

"Hades..." I gasped, pulling the phone closer.

"Please... don't hang up," he pleaded, his breathing shallow and unstable on the other end of the line. "Just... hear me out. Please."

I gripped the edge of a nearby windowsill, my knuckles turning white. "Why are you doing this, Hades? Look at what you're doing to this town! You bribed the Mayor! You're tearing these families apart with your money!"

"I don't care about the town, Maddie!" Hades choked out, his voice breaking—a sound so alien and unnatural coming from a man like him. "I don't care about the land, the project, or the money! I don't care about any of it!"

"Then stop this!" I shouted into the receiver, tears stinging my eyes. "Why are you doing all of this?!"

"Because it's the only way I can get you to look at me!" he begged, completely unspooling on the phone. "Maddie... please. Just come back. Just step back into my life, and I swear to God, I'll tear up every contract. I'll pull Mayor Clinton back. I will retract every single plan, every buyout, every bid. I will leave Oakridge completely untouched. They can keep their homes, their shops, their lives... just come back to me. Please."

Silence stretched over the line, heavy with his ragged breathing.

"I'm begging you, Maddie," the unyielding titan whispered, his voice completely broken. "Just come home."