Maya's POV
I grabbed a metal pipe from the floor and swung it at my father's head.
He ducked. The pipe whistled through the air and clanged against the wall. His men raised their guns, but Dad held up his hand.
"Don't," he said calmly. "She's my daughter."
"You're not my father," I screamed. "My father died three years ago!"
"I needed you to think that." Dad—no, this stranger wearing my father's face—stepped closer. "It was safer for everyone if you believed I was gone."
I swung the pipe again. This time Detective Park caught it mid-swing.
"Maya, stop," she said. "Look around. We're outnumbered fifteen to one. Fighting won't help."
I looked. She was right. Men with guns surrounded us on all sides. Adrian was still on his knees, staring at my father like he'd seen a ghost. Tattoo-Neck and his friends were being handcuffed by two of the men.
We were trapped.
I dropped the pipe. It hit the concrete floor with a loud clang that echoed through the warehouse.
"Thank you," Dad said. He looked the same as I remembered. Gray hair. Kind eyes. The same eyes that used to read me bedtime stories. "I know you're confused—"
"Confused? You let me cry at your funeral! I gave a speech about how much I missed you! Mom spent a whole year in bed because she thought you were dead!" My voice broke. "How could you do that to us?"
"Your mother knew." Dad's voice was gentle. Too gentle. "She was in on it from the beginning."
The words hit me like a punch to the stomach. "No. That's not true."
"It's true, sweetheart. We both worked for the same organization. When things got dangerous, we faked my death to protect you. To keep you safe from people exactly like the ones who just tried to kill your husband."
I couldn't breathe. Mom knew? All this time, Mom knew he was alive?
"You're lying," I whispered.
"I wish I was." Dad turned to Adrian. "Cut him loose."
One of the men stepped forward and sliced through the ropes around Adrian's wrists. Adrian stumbled to his feet, rubbing his arms.
"Mr. Reeves," Adrian said hoarsely. "I didn't know. I swear I didn't know you were her father."
"I know you didn't. That was the point." Dad walked over to Adrian. For a second, I thought he might hit him. Instead, he put his hand on Adrian's shoulder. "You married my daughter seven years ago. You promised to love and protect her. Instead, you dragged her into your mess."
"I'm sorry," Adrian said. "I never meant for any of this to happen."
"But it did happen. And now my daughter—my only child—is a target because of you." Dad's grip tightened on Adrian's shoulder. "Do you know what I do to people who put my family in danger?"
Adrian went pale. "Please. I'll fix this. I'll find the money. I'll—"
"The money's already been found." Dad let go of Adrian and turned to me. "That's what I came here to tell you both. The three million dollars? It's been moved to a secure location. The people Adrian stole from will get it back. His debt is paid."
Relief flooded through me. "So it's over? We're safe?"
"Not quite." Dad nodded to Detective Park. "Show her."
Detective Park pulled out a tablet and tapped the screen. She turned it toward me.
It showed a photo. A man lying on the ground. Dead. His eyes were open but empty. There was a bullet hole in his forehead.
I felt sick. "Who is that?"
"James Chen," Detective Park said. "Adrian's brother."
The warehouse tilted. Adrian made a choking sound.
"James?" Adrian's voice was barely a whisper. "No. No, that can't be—when did this—"
"Four hours ago," Dad said. "In his apartment in Chicago. Someone wanted to send a message."
"What message?" I asked, even though part of me didn't want to know.
Dad looked at me with those kind eyes that weren't kind at all. "That the debt might be paid, but the punishment isn't over. Adrian stole from dangerous people, Maya. Even returning the money won't erase what he did. They want revenge."
Adrian fell to his knees again. Not because someone pushed him. Because his legs gave out. "James," he said. "Oh God, James. He had a wife. Kids. He didn't have anything to do with this."
"They know that." Dad's voice was cold now. "That's why they killed him. To hurt you. And they're not going to stop there."
"Who else?" Adrian looked up, tears streaming down his face. "Who else are they going to kill?"
Dad didn't answer. He just looked at me.
The realization hit me like ice water. "No. No, they wouldn't."
"You're his wife, Maya. You're the person he loves most in the world. Of course they're coming for you next."
I backed away. "But I didn't do anything! I didn't even know about the money!"
"Doesn't matter. You're his weakness. And they're going to use that." Dad walked toward me slowly, like I was a scared animal. "That's why I'm here. To get you somewhere safe before they find you."
"Safe where? Where could I possibly be safe from people who can kill someone in Chicago and show up here four hours later?"
"I have a place. A facility where we keep high-value witnesses. You'll stay there until this blows over."
"And how long will that take? Weeks? Months? Years?" I laughed, but it came out wrong. Broken. "I can't hide forever."
"You won't have to. We're going to catch the people responsible. But that takes time. Time you don't have if you stay in the open." Dad reached for my hand. "Please, Maya. Let me protect you. Let me do what I should have done from the beginning."
I looked at his hand. The same hand that taught me to ride a bike. That held mine during scary movies. That I held at his funeral—his fake funeral.
"I don't even know who you are anymore," I said.
"I'm your father. That's all that matters."
"Is it? Because fathers don't lie to their daughters for three years. Fathers don't let their daughters marry criminals without warning them. Fathers don't—"
A phone rang.
Everyone froze.
It was coming from Adrian's pocket. The one with the blood on it.
Dad nodded to one of his men. The man pulled out Adrian's phone and checked the screen. His face went white.
"Sir," he said. "You need to see this."
Dad took the phone. He stared at it for a long moment. Then he looked at me with an expression I'd never seen before.
Fear.
"We need to go," he said. "Right now."
"What is it?" I asked. "What's on the phone?"
Dad turned the phone toward me.
It was a text message with a photo attached.
The photo showed Mom. My mom. Sitting in her living room. Her hands were tied. There was tape over her mouth. And standing behind her, holding a gun to her head, was a man I recognized.
The taxi driver who brought me here.
Below the photo was a message: You have one hour to bring Maya Chen to the old factory on Riverside Drive. Come alone. If we see any cops or federal agents, Mom dies. If Maya doesn't show up, Mom dies. If you're one minute late, Mom dies. The clock starts now.
I looked at the time stamp. The message was sent three minutes ago.
"No," I breathed. "No, not Mom. Please not Mom."
Dad was already barking orders. His men scattered, pulling out phones, checking weapons. Detective Park grabbed my arm.
"We can get her out," she said. "We have people who can—"
"They'll kill her," I said. My voice sounded far away. "If they see any cops, they'll kill her."
"Maya, we can't let you walk into a trap."
"She's my mother!" I screamed. "What am I supposed to do? Let her die?"
"We'll find another way," Dad said, but his voice shook. He was scared. Actually scared. "We'll send in a team. We'll—"
"There's no time!" I grabbed the phone from his hand. "It takes twenty minutes to get to Riverside Drive. That leaves forty minutes to plan a rescue? It'll never work. They'll know. They'll kill her."
Adrian stood up. "I'll go instead. I'll tell them to take me and let her go."
"They don't want you," Dad said. "They already killed your brother. You're not valuable to them anymore. They want Maya because she's valuable to me."
The pieces clicked together in my head. "This isn't about Adrian's debt at all, is it? This is about you. They're using me to get to you."
Dad didn't answer. He didn't have to.
"What did you do?" I asked quietly. "What did you do that made them want to hurt me this badly?"
"I can't tell you that."
"You owe me the truth!"
"The truth is complicated—"
"Then uncomplicate it!" I shoved him. He barely moved. "Tell me why people want to kill me! Tell me why James is dead! Tell me why Mom is sitting in her house with a gun to her head!"
Dad grabbed my shoulders. "Because I'm not just your father, Maya. I'm the man who's been hunting these people for fifteen years. I've taken down their operations. Frozen their accounts. Put their leaders in prison. And now they finally found my weakness." He pulled me closer. "You. You're my weakness. And I will burn this entire city to the ground before I let them touch you."
Someone's phone beeped. One of Dad's men checked it.
"Sir," the man said. "We just got another message. From a different number."
"What does it say?"
The man swallowed hard. "It's a video. Of Mrs. Reeves."
Dad grabbed the phone. I looked over his shoulder.
The video showed Mom. The man behind her pressed the gun harder against her head. Mom's eyes were red from crying.
Then the man spoke. "Fifty-seven minutes left, Maya. Don't keep us waiting."
The video ended.
I looked at Dad. At Adrian. At Detective Park. At all the armed men who were supposed to keep me safe.
Then I ran.
"Maya, stop!" Dad shouted.
But I was already out the door. Running across the gravel. My bare feet bleeding. My lungs burning.
I heard footsteps behind me. People chasing me. Shouting my name.
A car screeched to a stop in front of me. The passenger door flew open.
"Get in!" a woman's voice yelled.
I looked inside. A stranger sat at the wheel. Red hair. Green eyes. A face I'd never seen before.
"Who are you?" I gasped.
"Someone who can save your mother. But only if you trust me. Right now."
Behind me, Dad burst through the warehouse door. "Maya, don't!"
I looked at him. Then at the stranger.
"Can you really save her?" I asked.
The woman smiled. "I already did. Your mom's safe at my apartment. That video was fake. This whole thing's been a setup."
"A setup for what?"
The woman's smile faded. "To see what choice you'd make. And congratulations—you just failed the test."
She pulled out a gun and pointed it at my chest.
"Now get in the car, Maya. We have a lot to talk about."