Chapter 3— THE DEAL

ELLIE'S POV

He stood in my office. The man from the party. The liar. Leo.

My body went cold, then hot. “Get out,” I said. My voice was weak.

He did not move. He looked terrible. His face was pale. His hands shook.

“I said get out!”

“I can’t,” he said. “Not yet. I have to say this.”

A dark curiosity held me still. I did not call for help. I just waited.

He took a sharp breath. He pulled his phone from his pocket. His hands fumbled. He turned the screen toward me.

A photo of a girl. She was young. Maybe sixteen. She had Leo’s eyes. She sat on a sofa, holding a pillow. She was not smiling.

“My sister, Cara,” he said. His voice broke. “The men I owe… they have her. They call it a ‘visit.’ To make sure I pay. I have two days.”

The room felt small. I stared at the girl’s face. It looked real. The fear in his voice felt real. But he was a liar. “This could be anyone,” I said. The words were empty.

“It is not,” he said. He put the phone away. “I swear on her life. I never wanted to hurt you. I was drowning. You were a lifeboat. It was wrong. I know that.”

“Why tell me? Do you think I will give you money now?” I crossed my arms tight. “After your trick?”

“No.” He shook his head. “I am not asking for a gift. I ask for a loan. I will pay back every cent. With interest.”

I almost laughed. A bitter sound. “You have no job. How?”

“I have something else,” he said. He took one step toward my desk. I took one step back. “I did not just study you for myself. I was hired to do it.”

A new cold filled my bones. “Hired?”

“By Silhouette.” He said my biggest rival’s name. “They hired me a year ago. They wanted information. Your weak points. Your habits. They wanted dirt.”

My heart beat fast against my ribs. This was worse. “You were a spy.”

“Yes. I have been using your daughter Maya. But I never gave them the good stuff. Only small things. Then my debt came… I saw my chance with you. I thought I could fix my own problem.” He looked at the floor. “But I have proof. Emails. Recordings. Their whole plan for your fall collection.”

My thoughts raced. Silhouette’s new line was two weeks before mine. I had been nervous. “What plan?”

“They will say you stole designs. They have fake drawings with old dates. They paid a former intern to lie. It will be a big scandal. It could ruin your brand.”

My legs felt weak. This was my deepest fear. My business was my life. My children’s future.

“Why tell me this?” I asked.

“It is my collateral,” he said. His eyes locked on mine. “You give me the money to get my sister. I give you all the proof. You can stop them. You can protect your company. You win. I get my sister safe. Then I work for you. I do anything. I pay back every dollar. Or you send me to jail after. I don’t care.”

A deal. A business deal with a liar.

My head hurt. This could all be another lie. A bigger, smarter lie. He could take the money and disappear. He could be working with Silhouette right now.

But the girl’s face… the raw fear in his eyes… My own fear of losing everything…

“How do I know it is real?” My voice was dry.

He took his phone out again. He tapped the screen. He slid it across my desk.

An email. The sender was an address I knew. It belonged to Silhouette’s head of operations. The subject line: “Jameson Project – Phase Two.” I saw my company’s name. I saw the word “discredit.” I did not read more. I did not need to.

It was real.

I looked from the phone to his face. He was crying. Quietly. Tears fell down his cheeks. He did not wipe them.

“She is just a kid,” he whispered.

I was falling into a deep, dark hole. No good choice. Trust him and risk everything. Do not trust him and maybe lose everything anyway, while a girl suffered.

I opened my mouth. I did not know what would come out. Yes. No. Get out.

The door to my office flew open.

It was fast. One moment we were alone in the quiet. The next, the door hit the wall.

Maya stood there.

She held two coffee cups from my favorite place. Her face was bright. She came to bring me a surprise lunch.

Then she saw him.

Her smile died. The light in her eyes went out. Her skin turned pale, then red.

She looked at Leo. Her ex-boyfriend. The man who broke her heart. Then she looked at me. Her mother. The woman who promised nothing happened.

I saw the truth crash in her mind. The lie. The betrayal.

The two coffee cups fell from her hands. They hit the floor with a ugly, cracking sound. Hot, dark liquid exploded across the pale rug. It spread fast.

She did not look down. She stared at me. Her eyes were wide, full of a hurt so deep it looked forever.

“You lied,” she said. Her voice was hollow. “Something indeed happened that night.” Maya said and then left.