Chapter 13: Shaken Ground
...
For a week, Shaya had done everything HHM told him. The phone stayed in the drawer at night, his check-ins were honest, and the quiet in his head felt strange but good almost like breathing fresh air after years underground. He thought maybe this was the turning point.

Then the calls started again.

It was a Thursday afternoon when the first unknown number lit up. “You think you can disappear?” a cold voice said. “Money doesn’t just vanish. Fix this or we fix you.” The line went dead before Shaya could answer. By evening there were two more calls, then a text with nothing but a picture of his car outside his house. His hands shook so badly he could barely pick it up. He wanted to reach for the hidden phone, to drown the panic the old way but the phone wasn’t there. HHM’s voice was in his ear instead: Breathe. Face it. Don’t run to numb the fear.

That night he sat at the table pretending to learn, but the Gemara’s words blurred into black streaks on white paper. Leah noticed his pale face. “Everything okay?” she asked softly. He forced a smile. “Just tired.” She didn’t press, but her eyes followed him as he walked to the bedroom. At midnight, another call came. “You have forty-eight hours. Don’t make us come find you.” Shaya sat on the edge of the bed, heart pounding, sweat dripping down his back. The old cravings hit like a punch to the gut that desperate urge to escape, to click and scroll until the fear went quiet.

He stared at the locked drawer across the room, breathing hard. Then he grabbed his other phone the one HHM knew about and dialed.
“HHM? It’s bad. They’re coming after me.” The mentor’s voice was steady. “I hear you. Don’t do this alone. Don’t hide. Tomorrow morning we meet. We’ll figure this out.” Shaya hung up, still trembling, but something was different. He hadn’t escaped. He hadn’t hidden. He had called for help instead. The fear was still there, loud as ever but for the first time, he wasn’t drowning in it completely.

The ground beneath him was shaking, and he knew the storm wasn’t over. But at least now, he wasn’t facing it in the dark.

Chapter 14: The Plan
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Shaya arrived early at HHM’s house, gripping the steering wheel like it might keep him from falling apart. He hadn’t slept. The cold morning air bit at his face as he walked up the path. HHM opened the door before he even knocked.

Inside, the table was already set with two steaming mugs of tea. HHM sat down, no notebook this time, just steady eyes.
“Tell me everything,” he said.
Shaya did. The threats, the photo of his car, the knot in his stomach so tight he could barely breathe.

HHM listened without interrupting, then leaned back. “This is bigger than you can handle alone. We need a plan two plans, actually. One for these men. One for your own fight.”

First, the outside threat.
“You need legal help,” HHM said firmly. “Someone who knows what’s real and what’s just intimidation. I know a lawyer who’s discreet and honest. You’re going to call him today. No waiting, no excuses.”
Shaya swallowed hard. Just the thought of explaining everything to a stranger made him feel sick, but he nodded.

Second, the inside battle.
HHM spoke carefully. “These late-night habits aren’t just a side issue. They make you weaker. You’re foggy, anxious, hiding, so you make worse decisions. We need stronger guardrails.”
He laid them out clearly: Shaya would add a second layer of filters, share his check-ins earlier in the day, and start meeting HHM in person every week, not just on the phone.

Finally, Leah.
HHM’s tone softened. “You don’t have to tell her everything right now. But she knows something’s wrong. If you keep shutting her out, you’ll break her trust and you need that trust more than ever. Start small. Tell her you’re under pressure with some bad business deals and you’re getting guidance. Let her feel you’re not alone.”

Shaya felt his stomach twist. “And if she asks questions?”
“Then you answer what you can without lying. Hiding has been your enemy. Honesty is your ally now.”

They ended with a short tefillah, HHM’s voice steady, almost fatherly. As Shaya walked to his car, the threats were still real, the fear still sharp. But there was a map now and someone walking with him.

Gosh, I can’t wait for the story to take a nosedive, to lead into the introductory scene. I love me a good downer in an awesome story. Makes it more relatable to real life. 

Chapter 15: The Nosedive
...
Shaya thought he was holding it together. He had spoken with HHM, put up new guardrails, even scheduled a meeting with the lawyer. For a few days, it almost felt like the ground under his feet was solid. But fear has a way of finding the cracks.

On Wednesday afternoon, Leah called him while he was driving. Her voice was tight. “Why did someone come by asking for you? Some men in a dark car, they didn’t give a name.” Shaya’s heart slammed against his chest. He mumbled something about a delivery mix-up, but his voice shook. Leah went quiet the kind of quiet that means she doesn’t believe you.

That night, the panic was too loud to ignore. His old cravings flared up like fire, promising just a few minutes of escape. He fought it at first. He even typed HHM’s number into his phone… then erased it. Instead, he went to the laundry room and dug out the hidden phone he swore he’d thrown away.

The spiral came fast. One click, then another. A rush of images, chats, strangers who didn’t care about his name or his fear. For two hours, the threats, the shame, the look on Leah’s face all of it blurred into nothing. When he finally looked up, the room smelled like detergent and sweat, and his soul felt like it had been dragged through mud.

The next morning he woke up late, groggy, angry at himself. On his way out the door, an envelope slid under his car windshield. No words just a picture of Leah walking down the street. Shaya’s stomach twisted. The walls weren’t just closing in anymore they were crushing him.

He skipped the lawyer’s call. He ignored HHM’s text. That night, he stayed up again with the hidden phone, trying to shove down the terror with something darker than fear. But when the screen finally went black, all he could see was Leah lighting the Shabbos candles in his mind, her lips whispering prayers he didn’t deserve.

By Friday, Shaya was shaking so badly he could barely put on his tefillin. The guardrails were broken. The lies were back. And the men who wanted his silence were getting closer.

Wow! I just came across this thread and read through every post!

So much pain in there. It must have been oh so hard. I really respect "shaya" for where he is holding (as of chapter 15)!

Chapter 16: Rock Bottom
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It was still dark when Shaya woke to the sound of pounding on the front door. Heavy, deliberate, nothing like a neighbor’s knock. Leah sat up, terrified. “Who’s that?” she whispered. Shaya’s heart slammed in his chest. He stumbled out of bed, praying it wasn’t what he thought. But when he peeked through the window, a black car idled in the driveway. Two men stood outside, one holding a folded piece of paper.

He opened the door just a crack. “We warned you,” the taller one said quietly. “You have until tomorrow night. Fix this or someone else will fix it for you.” The man shoved the paper into his hand and walked off. The car disappeared into the dawn. Leah came running from the hallway, pale and trembling. “Shaya, what is going on?”

Shaya tried to speak, but his mouth was dry. The paper was just a single photo Leah in the grocery store parking lot, alone. No words. No threats needed. She grabbed the photo from his hand, eyes wide. “Who are these people?” she demanded. He had no answer.

By midmorning, Leah had locked herself in the bedroom crying. Shaya sat at the kitchen table staring at his phone, shaking, knowing he needed to call HHM or the lawyer or anyone. Instead, he opened the hidden phone again. The craving was like a scream in his chest. If he could just disappear for ten minutes, maybe the terror would fade. But this time, it didn’t work. Even as he scrolled and clicked, the fear stayed, louder than ever.

That night, Leah confronted him. “What are you hiding from me? I found this phone. Who are you talking to?” Her voice cracked. “What have you gotten us into?” Shaya tried to deny it, but she was holding the evidence in her hand. The shame and panic crushed him until he couldn’t breathe. He slammed the table, shouting, then sank into a chair, head in his hands. “I’m in trouble, Leah. Big trouble. And I don’t know how to get out.”

Moments later, his own phone buzzed not the hidden one, the main one. A message from an unknown number: Twelve hours. No excuses.

By midnight, Leah had taken the baby to her mother’s house. The apartment was silent except for Shaya’s shallow breathing. His defenses were gone, his double life exposed, his family slipping away. And outside, someone was coming for him.

Shaya sat alone on the floor, the paper photo crumpled in his fist, whispering words he hadn’t said in years. “Hashem… help me. Please. I can’t do this.” But the only answer was the hum of the refrigerator and the pounding of his own heart.

Chapter 17: Turning Point
...
Shaya didn’t sleep that night. He sat on the floor until the first light crept through the blinds, his head pounding, his eyes raw. The silence in the apartment felt heavier than the threats outside. Leah was gone, and he had no one left to lie to, not even himself.

For the first time, he saw his life without excuses. Every secret late night, every lie to Leah, every “just one more time,” it had all led him here. He had thought he was in control, that he could keep his two worlds separate. But the truth hit him like a blow: he had been walking blind, led by a voice that promised comfort and gave chains instead.

The men after him were real. The legal trouble was real. But worse than all of that was the look on Leah’s face when she held the hidden phone. The pain in her eyes was deeper than fear. It was betrayal.

He remembered HHM’s words: “Every time you hide, you choke yourself.” Now he understood. The hiding hadn’t just fooled Leah, it had fooled him. He had believed his own lies. He thought he could handle it alone, thought he could “stop tomorrow,” thought this secret escape was harmless. But the more he escaped, the deeper the hole became until he could no longer see daylight.

That morning, sitting in the wreckage of his own choices, something shifted. He wasn’t proud. He wasn’t strong. He wasn’t in control. But for the first time, he didn’t try to be. He whispered the same words he had said at midnight, only this time they didn’t feel desperate. They felt honest.
“Hashem, I can’t do this. I need help.”

He picked up his phone and called HHM. His voice cracked as he spoke. “I’ve messed up everything. My wife knows. These people are after me. I can’t fight this anymore. Just tell me what to do.”

HHM didn’t sound shocked. “Good,” he said softly. “Now we can start. When you hit the bottom, you stop falling. You can push off and start climbing. But it has to be real. No more half-truths. No more hiding.”

Shaya nodded even though HHM couldn’t see him. For the first time in years, the fog began to clear. He felt no thrill, no false comfort, only a quiet resolve. He would face the danger. He would face Leah. He would face himself. And this time, he would not run.

Rock bottom had stripped away the illusions. And in the raw, painful light of morning, Shaya could finally see a tunnel stretching ahead. It was not easy, not short, but real. And at the far end, faint but unmistakable, there was light.

Chapter 18: The Climb Begins
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The house was quiet after Shacharis, but Shaya did not go to work. He locked the door, sat at the kitchen table, and let himself cry in a way he had never allowed before. There was no anger now, no excuses, only brokenness.

“Hashem,” he whispered, his voice shaking, “I did this. I hurt Leah, I lied to everyone, I let myself get trapped. I blamed other people, I blamed You, but this was me. I am begging You, give me a way back. I’ll do whatever it takes. Just show me what to do.”

The words poured out until there was nothing left. When he finally stood, his face was wet and his shoulders felt lighter. The fear was still there, but the fight to hide was gone. For the first time, he was not trying to control the story. He was ready to face it.

That afternoon, Shaya met HHM in person again. This time, there were no filters, no half-truths. He told him everything — the business deals, the late-night spiral, the threats, the broken trust with Leah. HHM listened carefully, no judgment in his eyes, only a steady patience that gave Shaya courage to keep talking.

When he finished, HHM spoke clearly. “The first step is that you take full responsibility for every part of this. You have already started by telling the truth. Now we put real steps in place.”

They drew up a plan together.

For his personal struggle: HHM gave him a daily structure. No devices alone at night, two check-ins a day, and a commitment to call if he felt tempted to go back to his secret habits. Shaya agreed to accept every safeguard, no matter how inconvenient, because he finally saw they were not punishments but lifelines.

For Leah: “You have to sit with her,” HHM said gently. “You do not have to tell her every detail, but you must tell her enough that she knows you are being guided, that you are changing, and that she is safe with you. Trust is rebuilt by honesty, not by speeches.”

For the legal danger: HHM connected him with a trustworthy lawyer who would go through everything carefully. “We can’t control what they will do,” HHM said, “but we can control that you will no longer lie or panic. You will walk straight now, even if the road is hard.”

By the time they finished, the sky outside had turned orange with sunset. Shaya felt exhausted, but different. He no longer wondered how to keep his two worlds separate. There would be no two worlds anymore.

As he left HHM’s house, he looked up at the darkening sky. “Hashem,” he whispered, “I will follow this all the way. I don’t deserve another chance, but I’m taking the one You’re giving me.”

For the first time in months, he drove home not dreading what Leah might say, but ready to face it head-on.

This. Is. Awesome. 
Getting goosebumps just from reading it.
So talented! Keep it up!
Thanks

Loving it!
A real talented writer you are!
This should totally get published as a serial in one those magazines.

Chapter 19: Help in the Shadows
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Shaya walked into the apartment just before nightfall. Leah was sitting at the table, her eyes red from crying. She didn’t speak when he came in.

He sat down across from her, hands open on the table. “Leah… I need to tell you the truth. Not all of it at once, but enough so you understand I’m not hiding anymore.”

Her lips trembled. “What is going on, Shaya? Who are these people? And what is that phone I found?”

He took a breath so deep it hurt. “I got involved in a business deal I never should have touched. It’s dangerous, and it’s my fault. And when the pressure got bad, I escaped into things I shouldn’t have. I’m getting help now real help from someone who knows how to guide me. I’m not lying to you anymore.”

Leah stared at him, stunned, but something in his voice sounded different. The defensiveness was gone. The excuses were gone. “Are we safe?” she whispered.

“We will be,” Shaya said carefully. “I’m meeting a lawyer tomorrow. And I’ll never leave you out again. You deserve the whole truth, step by step.”

That night, after Leah finally fell asleep, Shaya couldn’t shake the knot in his stomach. He didn’t know how the lawyer would react. Would he be arrested? Blackmailed? Ruined? By morning, his hands were cold with fear as he walked into the lawyer’s quiet office.

The lawyer listened, frowned, and nodded slowly. “This isn’t the first time I’ve heard of these men. You’re in deep, but not beyond saving. We’ll start by cutting off their leverage and protecting your family. I’ll need every detail, no matter how small.”

As Shaya left the office, still shaken, his phone buzzed with an unknown number. Normally he would have ignored it, but something made him answer.

“Are you Shaya?” a calm voice asked. “My name’s Dovid. Someone told me you’re in trouble with a certain ‘business group.’ I was too, last year. I got out. If you want, I can tell you how.”

Shaya froze on the sidewalk, barely breathing. Hashgacha pratis. Hashem Himself had just sent him someone who knew the maze.

That evening, Shaya told HHM about the call. HHM smiled. “Hashem is answering you already. When you stop hiding, He starts sending you people. Take every bit of help He puts in front of you.”

Shaya sat in his car afterward, the first flicker of real hope stirring in his chest. It wasn’t over. The road ahead was still dangerous. But he was no longer alone and maybe he never had been.

Chapter 20: Crossroads
...

The meeting with Dovid took place in a quiet coffee shop far from home. Dovid was older, steady, the kind of man who had clearly been burned before. “They’re not businessmen,” he said flatly. “They’re sharks. They pick good people, people with clean names. They use you to move their money, then they squeeze you until you break.”

Shaya leaned forward. “How did you get out?”

“Two things,” Dovid said. “Legal help and zero fear. The moment they see you’re not scared, they lose power. But you can’t bluff it. You have to have people backing you — real people who know what’s going on.”

Dovid scribbled a few names and instructions on a napkin. “You’re lucky you spoke up early. I waited too long. You have to cut them off now, before they use you for something worse.”

Shaya left feeling shaken but strangely stronger. It was terrifying to hear how deep this could go, but also comforting to know someone had survived it.

Later that day, Shaya sat with HHM again. This time the conversation was all about structure and honesty.
“No more hidden phone. It goes now,” HHM said firmly.
“It’s gone,” Shaya replied.
“No more late nights alone. You call me before bed if you feel weak. You send me updates twice a day. And you tell Leah enough so she sees real change, not just promises. Can you commit to that?”
Shaya swallowed hard. “Yes.”
HHM leaned in. “This isn’t just about avoiding mistakes. It’s about building a life where the urge to hide no longer makes sense. You fight the darkness by flooding it with light — truth, connection, accountability.”

Shaya walked out determined to follow everything. But that evening, as he drove home, his phone lit up with a new message: “We know who you met today. You’re making a mistake. Fix this, or we fix you.”

By the time Shaya pulled into his driveway, two men were waiting at the curb in a black car. They didn’t get out. They just watched as he walked to his door, their eyes cold, their meaning clear.

Inside, Leah was feeding the baby. She looked up and saw the fear in his face. “What now?” she whispered.

Shaya forced himself to breathe. He thought of Dovid’s calm warning. He thought of HHM’s voice telling him to flood the darkness with light. And for the first time, he realized he had a choice: keep running in circles or start walking straight, no matter how dangerous it looked.