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Chapter 1 - Chapter 1:Maya and Kevin

I'm done being the girl who finishes last.

My name is Maya. After my "best friend" walked off with my boyfriend, I stopped waiting for people to love me and started focusing on my hustle. As an estate liquidator, I'm the one who goes into the houses people want to forget and finds the value in the mess. Business is slow, and my bank account is screaming, but I'm finally putting myself first.

Then I got the call that changed everything.

The job: Clear out Rosewood, a massive coastal mansion that's been locked tight since 1974.

The client: Kevin Clarke. He's a billionaire who looks like he stepped off a magazine cover but acts like he has ice in his veins. He doesn't want to talk about the "curse" on his family—he just wants the house gone.

But while I was pulling up old floorboards in the library, I found more than just dust. I found a hidden stash of letters from Vivienne, a girl who vanished from this house fifty years ago. They aren't love letters. They're a warning.

Now, Kevin wants me to stay away from the past, but the more I read, the more I see myself in Vivienne. We were both silenced. We were both betrayed.

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Maya: "You hired me to liquidate your estate, Kevin. These letters? This is the only thing in this house that actually matters."

Kevin: (Leaning against the door, his eyes following her every move) "I hired you to clear the house, Maya. Not to dig up bones. Some things are better left buried."

Maya: "I've spent my whole life letting people walk all over me. I'm not doing it anymore. Not for you, and not for this house."

Kevin: (Steps closer, his voice softening) "I'm not trying to walk over you. I'm trying to protect you. Because the person who stopped Vivienne from writing that last letter? They're still out there. And maybe hewatching you."

Maya: "Then let them watch. I'm finally writing my own chapter."

Kevin: (His voice a low, rough rasp near her ear) "I'm not worried about Vivienne's story. I'm worried about yours."

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