CHAPTER 1
The phone rang at 7:43 AM on a Tuesday, which should have been Maya's first clue that something was either very wrong or very right. Normal people didn't call at 7:43 AM unless someone was dead, in jail, or about to make her rich.
The world was quiet except for the whirring ceiling fan and a nagging sense that she'd forgotten to pay her electricity bill again.
"Maya Chen?" The voice was aggressively cheerful, like a kindergarten teacher on cocaine.
"If you're selling extended car warranties, I drive a fifteen-year-old Honda that's held together by duct tape and prayers. The warranty would cost more than the car."
"Ms. Chen, this is Amanda from Paradise Getaway Contests! You've won our Grand Prize Dream Vacation!"
Maya sat up in bed, instantly suspicious. A faint prickle crept up the back of her neck. Every too-good-to-be-true offer was usually just that. But even as she traced the cord on her phone, something in Amanda's tone didn't sound like an amateur scammer. Or maybe the best scammers sounded exactly like this.
"Let me guess. I just need to pay processing fees, taxes, and the soul of my firstborn?"
"No ma'am! This is completely legitimate. You've won a first-class flight and two-night stay at the exclusive Sapphire Cove Resort in the Bahamas for two people!"
"I didn't enter any contest." Maya grabbed her coffee mug, which contained yesterday's coffee because she was classy like that.
She shot a glance at the half-empty suitcase in her closet, dusty from too many unused promises. Maybe her mother would have laughed at the absurdity—or maybe she'd have warned her not to trust anyone offering something for nothing.
"The entry was automatic when you purchased your groceries at Henderson's Market last month."
"Henderson's Market? That place is so fancy they charge extra for the air conditioning. I only shopped there because my regular store was out of toilet paper, and I was desperate."
"Well, your desperation has paid off! Will you be able to travel this Friday?"
Maya nearly choked on her stale coffee. "This Friday? As in, four days from now Friday?"
"Yes! The resort had a last-minute cancellation, so we're offering the upgraded package. First-class flights, luxury suite, all meals included spa treatments—"
"Hold up. What's the catch? Are you going to harvest my organs? Because I should warn you, my liver has seen some things."
Amanda's laugh sounded like wind chimes in a hurricane. "No organ harvesting! Just a dream vacation. Will you be bringing a companion?"
Maya thought of her best friend Jessica, who would absolutely lose her mind over a free luxury vacation. "Yeah, I'll bring my friend. She's the type who actually owns matching luggage and knows which fork to use for salad."
"Wonderful! I'll email you all the details. Have a fantastic trip, Ms. Chen!"
Maya hung up and stared at her phone. Either she'd just won the lottery of life experiences, or she was about to star in a very expensive episode of "How I Got Murdered in Paradise."
She hesitated, thumb hovering over Jessica's contact. No one got something for nothing. Definitely not her. But something inside her chest tugged - curiosity, maybe, or just the part of her that wanted to believe she could still get lucky.
She speed-dialed Jessica.
"Do you want to go on a free luxury vacation that's probably either a scam or a human trafficking operation?"
"Maya, it's not even eight AM."
"Time is a construct. So, vacation or potential kidnapping?"
"...I'll pack the good luggage. And maybe a taser, just in case."
Maya's packing strategy resembled a tornado with commitment issues. Three hours after the phone call, her bedroom looked like a clothing store had exploded during a clearance sale.
"What does one wear to possibly get murdered in luxury?" she muttered, holding up a sundress against a business suit. "Casual Friday kidnapping or formal evening dismemberment?"
She tried not to overthink the urgency in Amanda's voice that morning—or the way her instincts flickered between excitement and dread.
Her phone buzzed with a text from Jessica: "Running late at work. Boss discovered I exist and suddenly needs seventeen reports by 5 PM. Packing while crying. This is what happiness looks like".
Maya responded: "Pack the crying. Leave the boss. We have a plane to catch. "
"Almost done. Just need to sacrifice a goat to the printer gods. See you at airport at 6! "
By 4 PM, Maya had packed enough clothes for a small army or a very indecisive tourist. She threw her suitcase in her Honda, which wheezed in protest like an elderly cat being asked to run a marathon.
"Come on, Betty," she patted the dashboard. "One last adventure before you die of natural causes."
She hoped it was just the car complaining, not a bad omen.
The traffic gods, apparently feeling generous, cleared a path to the airport. Maya was actually making good time when her phone rang through the car speakers.
"Maya?" Jessica's voice was strained, breathless.
"Please tell me you're calling from the airport bathroom because airplane food gave you existential dread."
"I'm calling from the side of Highway 95. Maya, I—" The line crackled. "There's been an accident."
Maya's heart stopped. "What kind of accident? Are you hurt?"
"A truck just... it came out of nowhere. Rammed right into my car. I'm okay, I'm okay, but—" Jessica's voice broke. "Maya, the car is totaled. I'm not going to make it."
Jessica's call came through immediately after the crash, her voice strained and trembling with shock. Maya could hear Jessica's gasps and muffled cries, the sound of her panic, as if the chaos was trapped in her words, echoing in Maya's mind like a punch to the gut.
"Where are you? I'm coming to get you."
"No! You have to catch that flight. This is your chance for the good life, remember? Don't let my bad luck ruin your good luck."
Maya pulled over, her hands shaking. A memory flashed—her mother's warning, whispered before bed when she was small: "If something feels wrong, pay attention." "Jess, I can't just leave you—"