Maya's POV
"You saw Ethan with James Walsh?"
My voice comes out louder than I intended. Several shoppers turn to stare.
Sophie nods, her expression worried. "Last Tuesday. At the Grand Hotel's private dining room. They were talking very seriously. I almost went over to say hello, but something about the way they were acting made me stop."
I look across the boutique at Ethan. He's paying for the mountain of clothes Gabrielle selected, his credit card sliding through the machine like this is normal. Like he's not potentially betraying me with my worst enemy.
"What were they discussing?" I ask Sophie. "Could you hear anything?"
"No, I was too far away. But Maya, their body language—they weren't arguing. They were negotiating something." Sophie grabs my hands. "I've been worried sick about you. After the gala, after seeing you with him, I wanted to warn you. But you weren't answering my calls."
"I've been dealing with a lot."
"I can see that." Sophie glances at my stomach. "Pregnant. Engaged to a billionaire. Your ex-fiancé just destroyed his own family on television. Girl, your life is like a soap opera."
"Tell me about it."
"So what's going on? Is Ethan really your fiancé, or is this some kind of arrangement?"
I hesitate. Sophie is my best friend. If I can't trust her, who can I trust?
"It's complicated," I finally say. "We're working together to take down James Walsh. The engagement is fake. But Sophie, if Ethan was meeting with James secretly, that means—"
"He might be playing both sides," Sophie finishes. "Maya, you need to be careful. These people are dangerous. James Walsh has destroyed careers and lives. If Ethan is working with him—"
"Then I'm in serious trouble." I watch Ethan sign the receipt, laughing at something Gabrielle says. He looks so normal. So trustworthy. "I need to confront him. Find out the truth."
"Do you want me to stay with you? For support?"
"No. This is something I need to handle alone." I hug Sophie tightly. "But thank you. For warning me. For caring."
"Always." Sophie pulls back and looks at me seriously. "Maya, whatever happens with Ethan and Derek and all this drama—don't forget who you are. You're strong. You're smart. You don't need a man to save you."
"I know."
"Do you?" Sophie raises an eyebrow. "Because from where I'm standing, you've gone from depending on Derek to depending on Ethan. When are you going to depend on yourself?"
Her words hit hard. She's right. I've been letting men control my life for as long as I can remember.
"I'm working on it," I say quietly.
Sophie kisses my cheek. "Call me if you need anything. And I mean anything. Middle of the night, police involvement, secret getaway plan—I'm here."
After Sophie leaves, I walk back to Ethan. He hands me several shopping bags filled with expensive clothes.
"Ready to go?" he asks.
"We need to talk."
"About what?"
"Not here." I look around at the boutique staff listening curiously. "Somewhere private."
Ethan's expression changes. He knows something is wrong. "The car?"
"The car."
We load the shopping bags into his trunk and get inside. Ethan starts the engine but doesn't drive. He just sits there, waiting for me to speak.
"Sophie saw you," I say bluntly. "Last Tuesday. Having lunch with James Walsh at the Grand Hotel."
Ethan goes very still. "I see."
"That's all you have to say? 'I see'?"
"What do you want me to say, Maya?"
"I want you to explain why you were having a secret meeting with the man you claim to hate! The man who killed my mother! The man we're supposedly trying to destroy together!" My voice rises with each word. "Were you lying to me this whole time? Are you working with him?"
"No." Ethan's voice is firm. "I'm not working with James Walsh."
"Then why meet with him?"
"Because I needed information. Information he would only give me in person." Ethan pulls out his phone and opens a folder. "Here. Look at this."
He hands me the phone. The folder contains dozens of documents—bank statements, emails, legal contracts. All with James Walsh's name on them.
"What am I looking at?" I ask.
"Proof of thirty years of corruption. Bribery. Money laundering. Blackmail. Tax fraud. Everything we need to put James Walsh in prison for life." Ethan's eyes are intense. "I've been building this case for ten years, Maya. But I was missing key pieces. Financial records that James kept hidden."
"And he just gave them to you?"
"No. I made him think I wanted to make a deal. I told him I'd give him information about you—your movements, your plans, your weaknesses—in exchange for access to his private financial servers."
My stomach drops. "You told him you'd betray me?"
"I told him what he wanted to hear so he'd trust me enough to give me what I needed." Ethan scrolls through more documents. "He thinks I'm using you to get close to Derek and Richard. He thinks once I have what I want, I'll throw you away."
"How do I know that's not exactly what you're planning?"
"Because I'm showing you everything. Right now. No more secrets." He looks at me directly. "Maya, I did meet with James. I did lie to him. But I never lied to you about my ultimate goal—destroying him completely."
I scroll through the documents on his phone. They're damning. Bank accounts in offshore tax havens. Payments to judges and politicians. Email chains discussing illegal activities. If this is real, it's enough to send James to prison for decades.
"How did you get all this?" I ask.
"During our lunch, I planted a device on his phone that cloned his data. Everything he has access to, I now have access to." Ethan's smile is cold. "James Walsh thinks he's untouchable. He thinks his power protects him. But everyone leaves a digital trail."
"This is illegal, isn't it? Hacking his phone?"
"Extremely illegal. Which is why we can't use it directly as evidence. But we can use it to know where the real evidence is hidden. We can tell the police exactly where to look, what to search for, who to question."
I hand back the phone, my mind racing. "Why didn't you tell me you were meeting with him?"
"Because I knew you'd react exactly like this. With fear and doubt." Ethan's voice softens. "Maya, I'm not asking you to blindly trust me. I'm asking you to look at the evidence and decide for yourself if I'm on your side or not."
"I don't know what to believe anymore."
"Then believe the facts. James Walsh is being investigated by the police right now because of Derek's press conference. But investigations can be buried if you have enough money and connections. This evidence ensures he can't escape justice." Ethan takes my hand. "I'm not the enemy here. I'm the person who's spent ten years of his life preparing to destroy the man who killed both our parents."
"Derek said his father has been arrested."
"For questioning. Not charged. There's a difference." Ethan's grip tightens. "Without solid evidence, James will walk free within forty-eight hours. With this evidence, he goes to prison for life."
"And what about Derek? If we use this information, he'll be destroyed too. His whole family will collapse."
"Derek made his choice when he went on television. He knew what he was doing." Ethan releases my hand. "But if you want to protect him, if you still care about him more than justice—"
"I don't." The words come out firm, certain. "Derek had his chance to stand up to his father. He chose wrong. Now he's trying to fix it, but it's too late."
"So what do you want to do?"
"I want to burn James Walsh's empire to the ground." I meet Ethan's eyes. "But I need to know—really know—that you're not going to betray me when this is over."
"I can't prove that," Ethan admits. "You have to take a leap of faith. Trust me or don't. But decide now, because we're running out of time."
His phone buzzes with a new message. He glances at it and his expression darkens.
"What is it?" I ask.
"Message from my contact. There's a situation." He shows me the text: "Tonight's the night. Make sure Maya is nowhere near the restaurant. Things are about to get messy."
"What restaurant?" I demand. "What's happening tonight?"
"One of your grandfather's old restaurants is connected to James Walsh's money laundering operation. My people have been investigating it for weeks. Tonight, they're going in to gather the final pieces of evidence we need."
"Why can't I be there?"
"Because it's dangerous. James has security everywhere. If they catch anyone snooping, things could turn violent."
"I have a right to be there," I insist. "That's my grandfather's property. My inheritance."
"Which is exactly why James will have people watching it. Hoping you'll show up so they can grab you."
"Then we'll be careful."
"Maya—"
"No." I cut him off. "I'm tired of being protected and kept in the dark. If you're really gathering evidence tonight, I'm coming with you. This is my fight too."
Ethan studies my face for a long moment. "You're serious."
"Completely serious."
"If we do this, you follow my lead exactly. No arguments, no running off, no heroics."
"Agreed."
"And if things get dangerous, you leave immediately. No matter what."
"Fine."
Ethan starts the car. "Then we need to prepare. We have six hours before the operation starts."
As we drive back to the penthouse, my phone buzzes. A text from Derek.
"Maya, please answer me. I meant everything I said at the press conference. I love you. I want to fix this. Give me a chance to explain. Meet me tonight at the old coffee shop where we had our first date. 8 PM. Please come."
Eight PM. The same time as Ethan's operation at the restaurant.
Derek is asking me to choose. Him or revenge. The past or the future.
"Derek wants to meet tonight," I tell Ethan. "Same time as your operation."
"Are you going?"
"I don't know." I look at Derek's message again. "Part of me wants to hear him out. To see if he's really changed. But part of me knows it doesn't matter if he's changed. Too much has happened."
"You need to decide, Maya. Derek or justice. You can't have both."
"Why not?"
"Because Derek will try to stop us. If you tell him what we're doing tonight, he'll try to protect his father. Blood is thicker than water, even when that blood is poisoned."
"Derek betrayed his father on television."
"Derek made a public gesture. That doesn't mean he's ready to see his father actually go to prison." Ethan pulls into the parking garage. "If you meet with Derek tonight, you can't tell him where I'm going or what I'm doing."
"You think I'd betray you?"
"I think you care about Derek more than you admit. Even to yourself."
His words sting because they might be true.
We ride the elevator up to the penthouse in tense silence. When we enter, Ethan goes straight to his office. I follow.
"What are you doing?" I ask.
"Preparing for tonight." He pulls out weapons from a safe. Guns. "If James's people are at that restaurant, we need to be ready to defend ourselves."
"Whoa. Wait. Guns? Nobody said anything about guns!"
"Welcome to reality, Maya. This isn't a game. James Walsh has killed people for less than what we're about to do." Ethan checks the ammunition. "You can still back out. Stay here where it's safe. Let me handle this alone."
"No." I grab my phone. "I'm texting Derek that I can't meet him tonight. I'm choosing this. I'm choosing justice."
As I type the message to Derek, Ethan's phone rings. He answers it, listening intently.
"What? When?" His face goes pale. "Is she alive?"
"What's wrong?" I ask.
Ethan hangs up and looks at me with fear in his eyes. "Someone tried to kill my sister again. At the hospital. She's in emergency surgery right now."
"Oh my god."
"James knows about tonight. He's striking first, trying to distract me, make me emotional and careless." Ethan grabs his keys. "I need to go to the hospital. The operation is off."
"No." I grab his arm. "That's exactly what James wants. If you go to the hospital, you'll miss your chance to get the evidence."
"My sister is dying!"
"And she'll keep dying until James Walsh is in prison!" I force myself to stay calm. "Ethan, I'll go to the hospital. I'll make sure your sister is okay. You go to the restaurant and finish this. Tonight. Now."
"I can't ask you to do that."
"You're not asking. I'm volunteering." I grab my jacket. "Go. Get the evidence. End James Walsh. I'll protect your sister."
"Maya—"
"Go!"
Ethan looks torn, but finally nods. "Take this." He hands me one of the guns. "If anyone tries to hurt you or my sister, don't hesitate."
"I won't."
As I rush to the hospital, my phone buzzes with another text. Unknown number.
"Coming to the hospital? Good. James Walsh's men are waiting for you there. Walk into that hospital and you'll never walk out. This is your final warning. Turn around now or die tonight."
I stare at the text, my heart pounding.
Someone is watching me. Someone knows my every move. Someone wants me dead.
And I'm walking straight into their trap