Maya's POV
"Get in the car." Ethan's voice is ice cold.
Detective Marcus steps in front of me protectively. "She's not going anywhere with you."
"This is between me and my fiancée," Ethan says, his eyes never leaving my face. "Stay out of it."
"She knows the truth," Marcus says. "She knows about Robert Stone and her mother. She knows you've been using her."
Ethan's jaw tightens. "You have no idea what you've done, Detective. Walking away from me right now would be very wise."
"Is that a threat?"
"It's advice." Ethan takes a step closer. "Maya, get in the car. We need to talk privately."
My heart pounds. I'm trapped between two men—one who claims to be protecting me, one who's been lying to me from the start.
"I'm not going anywhere with you," I say, trying to keep my voice steady.
"Yes, you are." Ethan's voice drops dangerously low. "Because if you don't, James Walsh's men will pick you up instead. They're three blocks away, closing in. I'm tracking them."
"You're lying," Marcus accuses.
"Am I?" Ethan pulls out his phone and shows us a map with red dots moving toward our location. "I hacked James's security network this morning. He's been following Maya since she left my building. He knows about the baby. He knows about this meeting. And he's coming to take what he wants."
I look at the moving red dots on the screen. They're getting closer.
"This could be fake," Marcus says. "A scare tactic to get her to trust you."
"It's real." Ethan grabs my hand. "And we have about ninety seconds before they arrive. So you can come with me and stay alive, or you can stay here and find out what James Walsh does to pregnant women who threaten his empire."
I look at Marcus. "Is he telling the truth?"
"I don't know," Marcus admits. "But Maya, if you go with him, you're putting yourself in danger. Ethan Stone is not your friend."
"Neither is James Walsh," I point out.
Two black SUVs turn onto our street. They're moving fast, aggressive.
"Time's up," Ethan says. "Choose now."
I don't trust Ethan. But I trust James Walsh even less.
"I'm going," I tell Marcus. "But I'm not done with this conversation."
I get into Ethan's car. He peels away from the curb just as the SUVs screech to a stop where we were standing. In the rearview mirror, I see men in suits jumping out, shouting at Marcus.
We weave through traffic at dangerous speeds. My hands grip the seat as Ethan takes corners too fast, runs red lights, does everything to lose our pursuers.
"Are you insane?" I shout. "You're going to get us killed!"
"James's men are more dangerous than traffic," Ethan says, focused on the road.
After several minutes of terrifying driving, we finally lose the SUVs. Ethan pulls into an underground parking garage I don't recognize.
He kills the engine and turns to face me. "What did Marcus tell you?"
"The truth," I say coldly. "That my mother was engaged to your father. That she broke his heart. That he killed himself because of her. That you blame my family for his death."
"Is that what Marcus said?"
"He showed me photos. Documents. Proof."
Ethan is quiet for a long moment. "Your mother didn't break my father's heart, Maya. James Walsh did."
"Don't lie to me anymore," I snap. "I'm done with lies."
"I'm not lying." Ethan's voice is tight with emotion. "Your mother loved my father. She was going to marry him. But James Walsh blackmailed her. He threatened to destroy Richard's career and take you away from both your parents unless your mother left my father and convinced Richard to stay with Patricia."
I stare at him. "That's not what Marcus said."
"Because Marcus doesn't know the full story. He has pieces, but not the whole truth." Ethan pulls out his own phone and shows me a different set of documents. "These are letters your mother wrote to my father. Read them. You'll see."
I take his phone and read the first letter.
"Robert, I'm so sorry. I have to leave you. Not because I don't love you—I love you more than anything. But James Walsh has Maya. He's threatening to make sure I never see her again if I don't do what he wants. I can't lose my daughter. Please forgive me. Please understand. I'll love you forever. -Linda"
Tears blur my vision as I read more letters. Each one breaks my heart a little more.
My mother loved Robert Stone. She left him to protect me. And it killed them both—him literally, her eventually.
"James Walsh has been controlling both our families for decades," Ethan says quietly. "He used your mother's love for you to force her into compliance. Then he killed her when she still tried to expose him. That's why I need your help, Maya. Not as a weapon. As a partner. Someone who understands what he's taken from us."
"But you lied to me," I say, tears streaming down my face. "You hid all of this. You let me think you were just helping me out of kindness."
"Because you wouldn't have trusted me if I'd told you everything from the start." Ethan's voice is raw, honest. "You would have thought I was using you for revenge. Which, to be fair, I am. But not against you. Never against you."
"How do I know you're telling the truth now?"
"You don't." He takes his phone back. "You have to decide who to trust—me, Marcus, Derek, your father. Everyone has their own agenda. Everyone wants something from you."
"What do you want from me?"
"I want James Walsh to pay for what he did to our parents. I want justice. And yes, I want revenge." He meets my eyes. "But I also want you to be safe. You and your baby."
The baby. Right. I'm pregnant in the middle of this war.
"Ethan, I need to go back to the doctor," I say suddenly. "Patricia and Vanessa were there. They know about the pregnancy. They're probably still there, and I need—"
"We're not going back there," Ethan interrupts. "James's men are watching that office now. We need to get you somewhere safe until we figure out our next move."
"But I need to confirm the pregnancy officially. I need prenatal care. I need—"
"I'll arrange a private doctor. One who isn't on James Walsh's payroll." He starts the car again. "Right now, we need to disappear for a few hours."
"Disappear where?"
"Somewhere James can't track us. Somewhere we can talk without being monitored or followed."
We drive for thirty minutes, eventually pulling up to a small, ordinary-looking house in a quiet neighborhood.
"Where are we?" I ask.
"Safe house. I bought it under a fake name years ago." Ethan gets out and opens my door. "No one knows about this place except me."
Inside, the house is sparsely furnished but clean. Ethan immediately checks all the windows and doors, making sure everything is secure.
"Sit," he says, pointing to the couch. "We need to talk about what happens next."
I sit, exhausted and emotionally drained. "What is there to talk about? Everyone wants to use me. Everyone has secrets. I don't know who to trust."
"Then don't trust anyone." Ethan sits across from me. "Including me. But work with me anyway, because right now I'm your best chance at surviving this."
"That's not exactly reassuring."
"It's honest." He leans forward. "Maya, here's what I know. James Walsh wants your baby. He sees it as leverage against both Derek and me. Patricia wants the baby to control Derek and keep him in the family. Derek wants the baby because he's finally realizing what he lost. And I—"
"What do you want with my baby?" I ask quietly.
"I want to make sure it doesn't grow up in a world controlled by James Walsh." Ethan's voice is fierce. "I want your child to have the freedom and safety that we never had."
Despite everything, I believe him. At least about this.
"I'm scared," I admit. "I'm eight weeks pregnant. I have no money of my own. I'm living in your penthouse with nowhere else to go. Patricia threatened to take the baby. James tried to have me kidnapped. And now I find out my mother died because of a choice she made to protect me."
"Your mother was brave," Ethan says. "She put you first, even when it cost her everything. That's what mothers do."
"Is that what I'm supposed to do? Put my baby first, even if it means giving up everything?"
"You're supposed to fight. For yourself and your baby." He stands and extends his hand. "So are you with me? Really with me? No more doubts, no more running to detectives, no more wondering if I'm using you?"
I look at his outstretched hand. This is the moment where I have to choose. Trust Ethan and accept that everyone in my life has used me for something. Or walk away and face James Walsh alone.
It's not really a choice at all.
I take his hand. "I'm with you. But if you betray me, Ethan, I will destroy you myself."
He smiles slightly. "Fair enough."
My phone buzzes. A text from Derek.
"Maya, please answer. My father's men are looking for you. They have orders to bring you to him by force if necessary. Where are you? I can help. I can protect you. Just tell me where you are."
I show the text to Ethan. "Should I respond?"
"Do you trust him?"
"I don't know anymore. Do you?"
"No." Ethan takes my phone and turns it off. "Derek might mean well, but he's weak. James controls him. If you tell Derek where we are, his father will know within minutes."
"So what do we do?"
"We wait until tonight. Then we go back to my penthouse and act like nothing happened. We make James think he's winning. And while he's distracted by his own arrogance, we gather the evidence we need to destroy him."
It's a plan. Not a great plan, but better than nothing.
We spend the afternoon in the safe house. Ethan makes phone calls to his lawyers and investigators. I try to rest, but my mind won't stop racing.
My mother loved Ethan's father. James Walsh destroyed their happiness. My pregnancy connects me to three dangerous men. And I still don't know the full truth about anything.
Around five o'clock, my stomach starts cramping. Sharp pains that make me gasp.
"Maya? What's wrong?" Ethan rushes over.
"I don't know. My stomach—" Another cramp hits, stronger this time. "Something's wrong with the baby."
Ethan's face goes pale. "We need to get you to a hospital."
"No hospitals. James's men will be watching them."
"Then a private clinic. My doctor. Someone." He's already grabbing his keys, lifting me carefully. "Don't move. Stay calm. The baby will be okay."
But as he carries me to the car, another terrible cramp seizes my body.
I'm bleeding.