Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Daniel Torres called Maya at exactly 7 PM the next evening. She had spent the entire day pacing her apartment, unable to focus on anything except the meeting ahead. Every time her phone buzzed, her heart leaped. But it was always Ethan, and she deleted every message without reading it.

When Daniel's name finally appeared on her screen, Maya answered before the first ring finished.

"The Blue Moon Bar. Ninth and Amsterdam. One hour." His voice was clipped, urgent. "Come alone."

The line went dead.

Maya's hands trembled as she lowered the phone. The Blue Moon Bar was on the edge of the city, in a neighborhood that became dangerous after dark. Daniel was being careful, she realized. He didn't trust her yet. He was testing whether she would show up, whether she was serious.

She grabbed her coat and headed for the door, but froze with her hand on the knob. What if Ethan was having her followed? In her previous life, she would never have believed him capable of such paranoia. But now, after seeing the way he watched her at the coffee shop yesterday, she knew better.

Maya turned off her phone completely and removed the battery. She left through the back exit of her building, hailed a cab three blocks away, and gave the driver an address two streets from the bar. Better safe than sorry.

The Blue Moon Bar was exactly as sketchy as she expected. Dim lighting, sticky floors, the smell of stale beer and cigarettes. The kind of place where people came to disappear. Maya spotted Daniel immediately in a corner booth, his back to the wall, eyes constantly scanning the room.

She slid into the seat across from him. "Hi."

"You weren't followed?" Daniel asked without preamble.

"I don't think so. I was careful."

He studied her face for a long moment, then nodded. From under the table, he pulled out a laptop and turned it toward her. On the screen were dozens of files, all pulled from the USB drive she had given him.

"This is explosive," Daniel said quietly. "If even half of this is real, Ethan Hart should be in prison for the next twenty years. Tax evasion, bribery, insider trading, money laundering. He's not just dirty—he's drowning in corruption."

Maya felt a surge of vindication. "I told you."

"You did." Daniel leaned forward, his dark eyes intense. "But here's what I don't understand, Maya. Why now? Why are you doing this now? You've had access to these files for three years. You've been engaged to him for a month. Something changed. What was it?"

Maya's breath caught. She couldn't tell him the truth. Not yet. Maybe never.

"He hurt someone I love," she repeated her lie from yesterday, but this time it felt hollow. Daniel was too smart. He would see through it eventually.

"Who?" Daniel pressed. "Who did he hurt?"

"That doesn't matter—"

"It does matter," Daniel interrupted. "Because if you're doing this out of revenge, you're not thinking clearly. Revenge makes people reckless. And if you're reckless, you'll get caught. And if you get caught, Ethan Hart will destroy you."

"He already destroyed me," Maya whispered before she could stop herself.

Daniel went very still. "What do you mean?"

She looked away, unable to meet his eyes. "I mean... I know what he's capable of. I know the kind of man he is. And I can't marry him. I won't."

"Then don't," Daniel said simply. "Call off the wedding. Walk away. You don't need to burn down his entire empire just to escape him."

"Yes, I do." Maya's voice was stronger now, fierce. "Because if I just leave, he'll find someone else. He'll hurt someone else. And I can't let that happen."

It was partially true. In her previous life, after divorcing Maya, Ethan had moved on with Vanessa. How many other women would he manipulate, control, discard? How many lives would he ruin?

Daniel was quiet for a long time, his fingers drumming on the table. Finally, he spoke. "Alright. I'll help you. But we do this my way. No shortcuts, no risks. We build an airtight case that can't be traced back to you. Understood?"

"Understood."

"And Maya?" Daniel's voice softened slightly. "When this is over, when Hart is behind bars and you're free... you need to promise me you'll walk away. No looking back. No second thoughts. Can you do that?"

Maya nodded, even though she knew it was a lie. Because even when Ethan was destroyed, even when he had lost everything, the apocalypse would still be coming. And she would still have to survive it.

Over the next two weeks, Maya lived a double life. During the day, she played the role of Ethan's loving fiancée, attending wedding planning meetings and smiling at his family. At night, she met with Daniel, going through files, building their case piece by piece.

Ethan grew increasingly suspicious. He watched her constantly, questioned her every move. Where had she been? Who had she talked to? Why wasn't she answering her phone?

Maya deflected with practiced ease, but the tension between them was suffocating. Catherine Hart noticed too, cornering Maya at a dress fitting.

"You're different," Catherine said coldly, her sharp eyes dissecting Maya like a specimen. "Ethan tells me you've been distant. Cold. Is there a problem?"

"No problem," Maya said sweetly, even as her skin crawled. "Just pre-wedding nerves."

"Nerves." Catherine's laugh was like breaking glass. "My dear, you should be thrilled. You're marrying into one of the most powerful families in New York. Women would kill for what you're about to have."

They can have it, Maya thought viciously. They can have all of it.

"I am thrilled," Maya lied, forcing her face into a smile. "It's just a lot to take in."

Catherine studied her for another long moment, then nodded. "See that it stays that way. The Hart family doesn't tolerate disappointment."

It was a threat, thinly veiled. Maya had heard variations of it a hundred times in her previous life, always delivered with the same cold smile. But this time, instead of cowering, Maya met Catherine's eyes steadily.

"Neither do I," Maya said quietly.

Catherine's smile faltered for just a second, a flicker of uncertainty crossing her face. Then it was gone, replaced by her usual mask of superiority.

"Good," Catherine said, and swept out of the room.

Maya waited until she was alone, then let out a shaky breath. Every interaction with the Hart family felt like walking through a minefield. One wrong step and everything would explode.

But she couldn't think about that now. She had work to do.

That evening, Maya met Daniel at a different location—a parking garage this time, even more paranoid about being followed. Daniel was already there when she arrived, leaning against his car with his arms crossed.

"We have a problem," he said without greeting.

Maya's stomach dropped. "What kind of problem?"

"Ethan's having you followed," Daniel said grimly. "I spotted the tail three days ago. Black sedan, same driver every time. He's good, professional. Ethan must have hired someone expensive."

"Damn it." Maya pressed her hands to her face. She had suspected, but hearing it confirmed made everything real. "How much does he know?"

"Not much, I hope. I've been careful about when and where we meet. But Maya..." Daniel stepped closer, his expression serious. "You need to decide how far you're willing to take this. If Ethan finds out what you're doing, he won't just break the engagement. He'll ruin you. He has the money and connections to destroy your entire life."

"Let him try," Maya said fiercely. "I'm not backing down."

"Even if it means losing everything?"

"I already lost everything once," Maya said before she could stop herself. "I won't let it happen again."

Daniel frowned, clearly confused by her words. But before he could ask, Maya pulled out another USB drive from her pocket.

"This is everything else," she said. "Bank statements, recorded conversations, emails. It's all here. How long until we can move?"

Daniel took the drive, his jaw tight. "Two weeks, maybe three. We need to verify everything, build redundancies. If we rush this and something goes wrong—"

"We have two weeks," Maya interrupted. "Not three. We move in two weeks, Daniel. That's non-negotiable."

"Why? What's the rush?"

Because in two weeks, the world would start to freeze. Because in two weeks, none of this would matter anymore unless they acted now. But Maya couldn't say that.

"Because in two weeks, I'm supposed to marry him," Maya said instead. "And I need him destroyed before that happens."

Daniel studied her face, searching for something. Then he nodded slowly. "Alright. Two weeks. But Maya, you need to be ready. When this comes out, your life is going to change forever. Ethan will know you betrayed him. His family will come after you. You can't go back."

"I don't want to go back," Maya said softly. "I just want to be free."

For a moment, something shifted in Daniel's expression—a flash of understanding, maybe even compassion. Then it was gone, replaced by his usual professional mask.

"I'll be in touch," he said, and got into his car.

Maya watched him drive away, then stood alone in the empty parking garage. The fluorescent lights flickered overhead, casting strange shadows. In the distance, she could hear sirens.

Two weeks. She had two weeks to destroy Ethan, warn the world about the freeze, and figure out how to survive the apocalypse. It seemed impossible.

But Maya had lived through impossible before. She had survived betrayal, divorce, and the end of the world. She would survive this too.

Her phone buzzed. Ethan.

"Where are you? We need to talk. NOW."

Maya's hands clenched around the phone. The walls were closing in. Ethan was getting suspicious, Catherine was watching her, and time was running out.

She typed back a single word: "Coming."

Then she deleted Daniel's number from her phone, memorizing it instead. If Ethan checked her phone—and he would—he couldn't find anything.

Maya got in her car and started driving back toward Ethan's penthouse. But halfway there, her phone rang again. Unknown number.

Against her better judgment, she answered. "Hello?"

"Maya Chen?" The voice was female, cold, unfamiliar.

"Who is this?"

"Someone who knows what you're planning. And if you don't back down, you're going to regret it."

The line went dead.

Maya's blood turned to ice. Someone knew. Someone had discovered her plan. But who? And how much did they know?

Her phone rang again immediately. Ethan this time.

Maya stared at his name on the screen, her mind racing. If she didn't answer, he would come looking for her. If she did answer, she would have to lie to his face while knowing someone out there was onto her.

The phone kept ringing.

Maya took a deep breath, steadied her shaking hands, and answered.

"Hi, sweetheart," she said, her voice perfectly calm. "Sorry, I was driving. What did you need to talk about?"

"Come to the penthouse," Ethan said, his voice tight with barely controlled anger. "Right now. We need to discuss your recent behavior."

"Of course," Maya said sweetly. "I'll be there in fifteen minutes."

She hung up and pressed her foot harder on the gas pedal.

Fifteen minutes. She had fifteen minutes to figure out who had threatened her, what they knew, and how to stop them before everything fell apart.

The city lights blurred past her windows as Maya drove toward the penthouse where, in another timeline, Ethan had handed her divorce papers and destroyed her life.

This time would be different.

This time, she would destroy him first.

But as Maya pulled into the parking garage of Ethan's building, she saw it: a black sedan with tinted windows, parked in the shadows. Waiting.

And Maya realized with growing dread that she might have miscalculated everything.