CHAPTER 6

"And what do I get?" The question came out harder than Maeve intended.

Jade's smile returned, sharp as glass. "Your conscience intact. And fifty thousand dollars, from me, not him. Help me take him down, and you'll never have to marry that monster."

Then she was gone, the bathroom door swinging shut with a soft click.

Maeve stood there, the business card burning in her pocket, Jade's words echoing in her skull.

People have been hurt.

Desperate people don't ask questions.

Her reflection stared back from the mirror, wide eyes, smeared makeup, a girl who looked like she'd stumbled into a nightmare and couldn't find the exit.

Maeve didn't go home that night.

She couldn't face Leo's questions, couldn't pretend everything was fine. Instead, she walked. The city stretched around her, neon and shadows, the streets still humming with late-night traffic. Her borrowed heels cut into her feet, but the pain felt grounding, real.

Her phone buzzed. A text from an unknown number.

You looked beautiful tonight. Sleep well. 

Carter. She should delete it. Should block the number.

Instead, she stared at the message until her vision blurred.

Another buzz. Different number.

If you need to talk, I'm here.

Her chest tightened. Good cop, bad cop. Jade's words wouldn't stop replaying.

A third buzz. This time, a news alert.

BREAKING: Jade Kensington Hospitalized After Gala Incident. Condition Unknown.**

Maeve stopped walking.

The article was brief, Jade had collapsed in the parking garage, possibly drugged. Witnesses reported seeing her stumble, then fall. She was at Cedars-Sinai, under observation, unable to give a statement.

Maeve's blood ran cold.

The bathroom conversation had been less than two hours ago. Jade had been fine. Angry, sharp, fully in control.

Now she was in a hospital.

Coincidence?

Or a warning.

Maeve's hands shook as she dialed the only number that made sense.

Cameron answered on the first ring, his voice rough with sleep. "Maeve? What's wrong?"

"Did you know?" The words came out strangled. "About Jade?"

A pause. Too long. "I just heard. Maeve, where are you? You shouldn't be alone right now."

"Did Carter do this?" She couldn't keep the tremor out of her voice.

"What? No. Maeve, listen to me, "

"She told me things, Cameron. About fires. About payoffs. About people getting hurt." Maeve's voice cracked. "And now she's in the hospital, and I don't know who to trust, and I just, I need to know if any of it's true."

Silence. The kind that screamed.

Finally, Cameron spoke, his voice heavy. "Where are you? I'm coming to get you. We'll talk. But not over the phone."

"Why not?"

"Because phones can be monitored. Please, Maeve. Trust me one more time."

That phrase, one more time, it implied this was a last chance. For him or for her, she wasn't sure.

She gave him the intersection.

Twenty minutes later, a sleek black car pulled up. Not a limo, something smaller, less conspicuous. Cameron leaned across to open the passenger door, his face drawn and serious in the dashboard light.

Maeve hesitated.

Every instinct screamed at her to run.

But her mother's medical bills were still stacked on the kitchen counter. Tommy's tuition portal still showed a red OVERDUE notice. Aunt Rita's diner was still three months behind on rent.

She got in.

Cameron drove in silence, navigating the city with practiced ease. They ended up at a 24-hour diner on the edge of downtown, the kind of place that smelled like burnt coffee and served breakfast at 2 AM.

He ordered two coffees. Neither of them touched them.

"What did Jade tell you?" he asked finally.

Maeve studied him, the warmth in his eyes, the concern that seemed so genuine. Good cop. "She said Carter's been covering up product defects. That people have been hurt."

Cameron closed his eyes briefly, a muscle working in his jaw. When he opened them again, something in his expression had shifted. Hardened.

"It's true," he said quietly.

The words landed like stones.

"But not the way Jade made it sound," Cameron continued, leaning forward. "Yes, there were faulty units. Yes, people were hurt. But Carter didn't know. My uncle, Reginald, he was CEO when those decisions were made. He cut corners, bribed inspectors, covered it up. Carter only found out six months ago, right before he took over."

Maeve's head spun. "So Carter's innocent?"

"Carter's trying to fix it." Cameron's voice dropped. "The merger isn't about money, Maeve. It's about survival. The Takahashi Group manufactures better components. With their partnership, Carter can recall every faulty unit, replace them, make things right. But if the scandal breaks before the merger closes, the company tanks. The stock crashes. And thousands of employees, good people, lose everything."

It sounded so reasonable. So noble, even.

But something nagged at Maeve. "Then why not just come clean? Why the contest, the lies, the…"

"Because the world doesn't reward honesty." Cameron's laugh was bitter. "If Carter admits the defects publicly, the lawsuits bury us before we can fix anything. The Takahashis walk away. The company collapses. And those faulty fridges? They stay in people's homes, still dangerous, because we won't have the resources to recall them."

"That's not…" Maeve shook her head. "There has to be another way."

"There isn't." Cameron reached across the table, his hand covering hers. His touch was warm, steady. "I know it's messy. I know it looks bad. But Carter's not the villain here. He's just, he's trying to save something his father nearly destroyed. And yes, he's going about it in a cold, calculated way, because that's the only way he knows how. But his endgame? It's actually good."

Maeve wanted to believe him. God, she wanted to.

"What about Jade?" she asked. "The hospital?"

Cameron's expression darkened. "Jade's an addict, Maeve. Pills, mostly. She's been spiraling since Carter left her. Tonight, she probably took something to get through the confrontation, mixed it with champagne…" He shook his head. "Carter would never physically hurt someone. That's not who he is."

"But he'd hurt them other ways." The words came out before she could stop them.

Cameron didn't deny it. "He's ruthless in business. I won't lie about that. But there's a difference between being ruthless and being evil."

Maeve pulled her hand back, wrapping both around the cold coffee mug. Her reflection wavered on the dark surface.

"Why are you telling me this?" she asked. "If you're trying to protect Carter, wouldn't it be easier to just, I don't know, pay me off? Make me go away?"

Cameron's smile was sad. "Because I don't want you to go away."

The air in the diner shifted.

"I've watched Carter use people my whole life," Cameron continued softly. "Jade, Elena, business partners, everyone's a chess piece. But you?" His eyes met hers, and the warmth in them felt real, dangerously real. "You're the first person who's looked at him and not seen a meal ticket. You see him clearly, flaws and all, and you still showed up. That terrifies him. And it…" He paused, something

vulnerable flickering across his face. "It fascinates me."

Maeve's breath caught.

This was a complication she absolutely did not need.