Maya's POV
I stare at the death threat on my phone screen as my taxi speeds toward the hospital.
"Turn around now or die tonight."
Someone knows I'm coming. Someone wants to stop me. But Ethan's sister is in emergency surgery, and I promised to protect her.
I can't turn back now.
The taxi pulls up to the hospital entrance. I pay quickly and step out into the cold night air. The emergency room doors slide open automatically, and I walk inside like I'm walking into my own execution.
The waiting room is crowded with people. Nurses rush past. Doctors bark orders. Everything looks normal. Where's the trap?
I approach the reception desk. "I'm here to see a patient in emergency surgery. Her name is—"
I realize I don't know Ethan's sister's name. He never told me.
"Stone," I finish. "Her last name is Stone. She was brought in about an hour ago."
The receptionist types on her computer. "I don't have anyone by that name in emergency surgery tonight."
My blood runs cold. "That's impossible. I got a call—"
"Wait." The receptionist squints at her screen. "I have a Jane Doe brought in from a psychiatric facility. No identification. Is that who you're looking for?"
"Maybe. Where is she?"
"Third floor, surgical wing. But only family is allowed—"
I don't wait to hear the rest. I run to the elevators and punch the button for the third floor. My hands shake as I wait. This could all be a setup. The death threat. The fake emergency. James Walsh could be waiting for me upstairs.
But what if it's real? What if Ethan's sister really is dying?
The elevator doors open on the third floor. The hallway is empty and quiet. Too quiet.
I walk slowly, checking each door for the surgical wing. My footsteps echo off the tile floor.
Then I hear voices. Low, urgent, coming from around the corner.
"She should have been here by now."
"Maybe she didn't fall for it."
"She'll come. She's too soft-hearted to ignore someone in danger."
They're talking about me. This is definitely a trap.
I back away slowly, trying to reach the elevator before they see me. But my phone buzzes loudly in my pocket.
The voices stop. Footsteps move quickly toward me.
I run.
Behind me, two men in suits chase me down the hallway. I slam through the stairwell door and race down the stairs, taking them two at a time. My heart pounds so hard I think it might explode.
I burst out onto the second floor and keep running. Signs point to different departments. I follow one that says "Physical Therapy" and push through double doors.
The physical therapy room is empty and dark. I hide behind a row of exercise equipment, trying to quiet my breathing.
The stairwell door opens. Footsteps enter the physical therapy room.
"She's in here somewhere," one man says. "Check every corner."
I look around desperately for another exit. There—a door marked "Emergency Exit Only. Alarm Will Sound."
I have no choice. I run for it and slam through the door.
The alarm screams. Red lights flash. But I'm outside, running through the parking lot toward the street.
A car screeches to a stop beside me. I freeze, ready to run again.
The driver's window rolls down. It's Derek.
"Get in!" he shouts. "Now!"
I hesitate for half a second. Then I see James Walsh's men running out of the hospital behind me.
I jump into Derek's car. He peels away before I even close the door.
"What are you doing here?" I gasp, my lungs burning.
"Saving your life," Derek says, weaving through traffic at dangerous speeds. "My father's men have been watching the hospital all night, waiting for you."
"How did you know I'd be here?"
"Because I know you, Maya. When you heard Ethan's sister was hurt, I knew you'd come to help." Derek glances at me. "That's who you are. You help people, even when it puts you in danger."
"There is no sister, is there?" I realize. "The whole emergency was fake."
"Completely fake. My father created the story to lure you out of Ethan's penthouse. He wanted you isolated and vulnerable."
I think about Ethan rushing to the restaurant to gather evidence. He thinks I'm safe at the hospital. He has no idea I just barely escaped a kidnapping attempt.
"I need to call Ethan," I say, pulling out my phone.
"Don't." Derek grabs my wrist. "Your phone is how they're tracking you. My father has people who can trace every call, every text, every location."
"Then how do I warn Ethan that it was all a trap?"
"You can't. Not without putting him in more danger." Derek makes a sharp turn. "Maya, there's something else you need to know. The restaurant Ethan is investigating tonight? My father knows about it. He's waiting for him."
My stomach drops. "We have to stop him."
"We will. But first, you need to see something. Evidence that will change everything you think you know about Ethan Stone."
"What evidence?"
"Not over the phone. Not in the car. Somewhere safe where my father can't find us." Derek pulls into an underground parking garage. "Trust me one more time, Maya. Please."
I want to refuse. I want to jump out of the car and find Ethan myself. But Derek's eyes are desperate and honest in a way I haven't seen since before everything fell apart.
"Fine," I say. "But if this is another trick—"
"It's not. I swear on everything I've lost." He parks the car and turns off the engine. "My father destroyed my life, Maya. My marriage is based on lies. My career is over. My reputation is ruined. All I have left is the truth. And I'm going to give it to you, even if it destroys the last shred of hope I have for us."
We take an elevator up to an apartment I don't recognize. Derek unlocks the door and we step inside.
The apartment is small and sparse. Just a couch, a table, and boxes of files.
"What is this place?" I ask.
"My safe house. Where I've been hiding since the press conference." Derek walks to the table and opens a box. "After I exposed my father, I knew he'd come after me. So I've been gathering insurance—proof of every crime he's committed, everyone he's hurt."
He pulls out folders and spreads them on the table. Documents, photos, recordings.
"This is everything my father has done for thirty years," Derek says. "And Maya, some of it involves Ethan Stone."
"What do you mean?"
Derek opens a specific folder. "Ethan's been planning his revenge for ten years. But his plan isn't just to destroy my father. It's to take over Walsh & Associates himself. To become what he hates most."
"That's not true—"
"Look at this." Derek shows me a contract. "Six months ago, Ethan approached several of my father's biggest clients. He offered them better rates, better service, a cleaner reputation. He's been systematically stealing my father's business while pretending to help you get revenge."
I stare at the contract. It has Ethan's signature. His company logo.
"He's using your connection to both families as leverage," Derek continues. "Once my father is destroyed, Ethan will control everything—the Walsh firm's clients, your grandfather's properties, the whole empire."
"No." I shake my head. "Ethan wouldn't—"
"He would. He is." Derek pulls out more documents. "Maya, I'm not telling you this to hurt you. I'm telling you because you deserve to know the truth. Ethan Stone sees you as a means to an end. Nothing more."
My phone—the one Derek told me to turn off—buzzes in my pocket. I pull it out.
A text from Ethan: "Where are you? The hospital says you never arrived. Call me immediately."
Another text comes right after: "Maya, if Derek has you, don't believe anything he tells you. He's trying to turn you against me. Stay where you are. I'm coming to get you."
"He's tracking your phone," Derek says. "He'll be here in minutes."
"Good. Then I can hear his side of the story."
"There is no other side!" Derek grabs my shoulders desperately. "Maya, please listen to me. I know I hurt you. I know I don't deserve your trust. But right now, I'm the only person telling you the truth. Ethan Stone is dangerous. More dangerous than my father ever was."
"Let go of me," I say coldly.
Derek releases me, pain flashing across his face. "I love you. That's the truth. Everything else I did was wrong, but that's the one thing that's real."
"You loved me so much you married someone else."
"I made a mistake. The worst mistake of my life." Tears stream down Derek's face. "But I'm trying to fix it. I destroyed my relationship with my father to prove that you matter more than anything. What else do I have to do?"
Before I can answer, the apartment door explodes inward.
Ethan stands in the doorway, gun drawn, his face dark with fury.
"Get away from her," he tells Derek.
"Ethan—" I start.
"Now, Derek. Before I do something we'll both regret."
Derek steps back, hands raised. "I'm just showing her the truth about you."
"The truth?" Ethan laughs coldly. "You mean the lies your father fed you? The documents he created to turn Maya against me?"
"These documents are real—"
"They're forgeries. Good ones, but still fake." Ethan keeps the gun pointed at Derek. "James knew you'd try to play hero. So he gave you convincing evidence that makes me look like the villain. Classic manipulation."
"How do I know you're not the one lying?" I ask Ethan.
"Because I'm here, risking everything to save you, instead of leaving you to die at that hospital." Ethan's eyes meet mine. "Maya, I know you have doubts. I know you don't fully trust me. But right now, you need to choose. Him or me. Derek or Ethan. The past or the future."
"Don't make her choose," Derek says. "Maya, you don't have to pick sides. You can walk away from both of us. Start fresh. Save yourself."
He's right. I could walk out of this apartment right now. Leave both these men and their revenge and their lies behind. Protect my baby. Protect myself.
But then I remember my mother. James Walsh killed her. And he's still free, still powerful, still destroying lives.
"I choose justice," I say firmly. "Not Derek. Not Ethan. Justice for my mother, for Ethan's father, for everyone James Walsh has hurt."
"Then come with me," Ethan says, lowering his gun. "The restaurant. We need to get there before my team does something without us."
"What team?" Derek asks sharply.
Ethan ignores him. "Maya, we're running out of time."
My phone buzzes again. This time it's a news alert.
"BREAKING: Fire reported at historic restaurant in downtown. Building fully engulfed. Investigation ongoing."
My blood runs cold. "The restaurant. It's already burning."
"No." Ethan checks his own phone. "My people weren't supposed to move for another hour. Someone got there first."
"My father," Derek whispers. "He's destroying the evidence before you can find it."
We all race down to Derek's car. Ethan takes the driver's seat without asking. Derek and I pile into the back.
As we speed toward the burning restaurant, my mind races. Everything is happening too fast. I don't know who to trust. I don't know what's real anymore.
The restaurant comes into view. Flames shoot from the windows. Firefighters battle the blaze. Police block off the street.
"There," Ethan says, pointing.
A figure runs from the alley behind the burning building. Dark clothes, hood pulled up, something clutched in their arms.
The figure looks back at the fire.
The hood falls off.
It's Derek.
But Derek is sitting right next to me in the car.
"That's impossible," I whisper.
The Derek beside me stares at his own face in the distance. "That's not me."
"Then who is it?" Ethan demands.
The figure runs into the shadows and disappears.
But in that split second before vanishing, I saw something that makes my blood freeze.
The person running from that fire was Derek. Same face. Same build. Same everything.
Which means the man sitting next to me in this car is someone else entirely.