Chapter 2: The Car Outside
I didn't get into the Maybach immediately.
I stood beside it, frozen beneath the falling snow.
The driver waited patiently.
“Ms. Bennett?””
I rubbed my arms.
“Did my father really send this?””
“Yes.””
“When?””
“About twenty minutes ago.””
I glanced at the Whitmore house.
Twenty minutes.
My father must have known something was wrong.
Or perhaps he simply knew me well enough to understand that if I ever called the family driver, I was probably having the worst night of my life.
I opened the door.
“Thank you, Marcus.””
He nodded.
“Of course.””
I slid into the back seat.
The warmth hit me immediately.
Soft leather.
Dark wood.
A faint scent of cedar.
The kind of luxury I'd spent years trying not to think about.
Marcus closed the door.
Before he walked around to the driver's side, my phone rang.
Ryan.
I stared at his name.
I didn't answer.
It rang again.
Then again.
A message appeared.
*Ryan: Please don't leave like this.*
Another.
*Ryan: I had no idea my mother would treat you that way.*
I stared at the screen.
Then another message appeared.
*Ryan: Where are you?*
I turned off my phone.
“Home,” I whispered.
Marcus looked at me through the rearview mirror.
“Your father's house?””
I shook my head.
“No.””
“Where should I take you?””
I hesitated.
“My apartment.””
He nodded.
The car pulled away.
I looked through the window.
The Whitmore mansion disappeared behind us.
For almost a year, I had wondered what would happen if Ryan ever discovered the truth about me.
Now I knew.
The question wasn't whether he would love me after finding out.
The question was whether he had ever loved me before.
My phone buzzed again.
This time, it wasn't Ryan.
It was my father.
*Dad: Are you with Marcus?*
I replied.
*Me: Yes.*
Three dots appeared.
*Dad: Good. Come home.*
I stared at the message.
Then typed:
*Me: I'm okay.*
His reply came instantly.
*Dad: You're my daughter. You don't have to be okay with me.*
I closed my eyes.
That almost broke me.
Because my father had always been the person I could tell everything.
And I had spent eleven months keeping this one secret from him too.
Not because I was ashamed of him.
Because I was ashamed of how much I wanted Ryan to choose me without knowing what my family owned.
The next morning, I woke to twenty-three missed calls.
Seventeen from Ryan.
Six from an unknown number.
There were also nine messages.
I ignored all of them.
I showered, dressed in the same simple style I always wore, and drove my Honda to work.
I needed normal.
Work was normal.
Numbers were normal.
Spreadsheets didn't judge you.
Balance sheets didn't care about your last name.
People did.
At ten thirty, my assistant, Claire, walked into my office.
She was holding a tablet.
“You're trending.””
I looked up.
“What?””
She placed the tablet on my desk.
A photo filled the screen.
Me.
Walking out of the Whitmore mansion.
The headline read:
*MYSTERY WOMAN HUMILIATED AT WHITMORE THANKSGIVING DINNER?*
My stomach dropped.
“Where did they get this?””
“Someone posted it last night.””
I scrolled.
Another photo.
The Whitmore house.
Another.
My Honda.
Then one of Ryan.
The comments were brutal.
She clearly doesn't belong.
Ryan can do better.
Probably chasing his money.
I put the tablet down.
“Who posted it?””
“We don't know.””
Claire hesitated.
“There’s more.””
She handed me her phone.
A gossip account had posted a blurry photo of the Maybach.
The caption read:
*Interesting exit vehicle.*
My blood ran cold.
“That's not public.””
Claire looked at me.
“Maya…”
I said nothing.
She lowered her voice.
“Who are you?””
I stared at her.
Claire had worked for me for two years.
She knew my title.
She knew my work.
She knew nothing about my family.
“I'll explain later.””
She nodded slowly.
Then my office door opened.
Ryan walked in.
He looked exhausted.
His shirt was wrinkled.
His eyes were red.
He shut the door behind him.
“Maya.””
I stood.
“You can't just walk into my office.””
“I know.””
“Then why are you here?””
“Because you won't answer your phone.””
“I didn't want to.””
He stopped a few feet away.
“I deserve that.””
“Yes.””
He looked down.
“My mother crossed a line.””
“She did.””
“My father should have stopped her.””
“He didn't.””
“I should have stopped her.””
I didn't answer.
Ryan moved closer.
“I am sorry.””
I folded my arms.
“Are you sorry because she insulted me?””
“Yes.””
“Or because I left?””
He looked confused.
“What difference does that make?””
“It makes all the difference.””
He stared at me.
Then said quietly,
“I was scared.””
“Of what?””
“My family.””
I almost smiled.
“Thank you.””
“For what?””
“For finally telling me the truth.””
He frowned.
“I've never lied to you.””
I looked directly at him.
“You told me money doesn't impress you.””
“It doesn't.””
“Your mother thinks money is everything.””
“She isn't me.””
“Then why were you afraid to stand up to her?””
He didn't answer.
I walked toward the window.
Outside, Chicago moved beneath a gray winter sky.
Ryan said,
“Give me a chance to fix this.””
I turned.
“How?””
“I'll talk to my parents.””
“That's not enough.””
“What do you want?””
I stared at him.
“I want you to decide whether you love me.””
His expression changed.
“I do.””
“Then why did you let your mother make me feel like I wasn't good enough?””
“I didn't know what to do.””
“That is the problem.””
He came closer.
“I love you, Maya.””
I wanted to believe him.
God, I wanted to.
Then his phone rang.
He looked at the screen.
His face immediately hardened.
“It's my mother.””
“Answer it.””
He hesitated.
“Why?””
“Because I want to hear what she says.””
Ryan answered.
“Mom.””
Diane's voice came through loudly enough that I could hear it.
“Is she there?””
Ryan glanced at me.
“Yes.””
“Then put her on.””
“No.””
“Ryan.””
“No, Mom.””
There was a pause.
Then Diane said something that made his face go pale.
He hung up.
“What did she say?””
“Nothing.””
“Ryan.””
He looked away.
I stepped closer.
“What did she say?””
He finally met my eyes.
“She said the family lawyer found something about you.””
My heart stopped.
“What?””
“I don't know.””
“You don't know?””
“He's coming to the house this afternoon.””
I felt the room tilt.
“Why would your family lawyer investigate me?””
Ryan shook his head.
“I don't know.””
But I knew.
At least, I knew what they might have found.
Bennett Holdings.
My real employment.
My real identity.
The company I'd inherited shares in when my mother died.
The trust my father had created.
Everything I had hidden.
Ryan took my hand.
“Whatever it is, tell me.””
I looked down at our hands.
Then back at him.
“I will.””
“Now?””
“Not here.””
“Where?””
I pulled my hand away.
“Tonight.””
He nodded.
“Okay.””
He headed toward the door.
Before leaving, he turned.
“Maya?””
“Yes?””
“If this is about money…”
I waited.
He swallowed.
“I don't care.””
The door closed.
I stood alone.
Then Claire rushed in.
“Maya.””
“What?””
She looked terrified.
“Your father is on the phone.””
I picked it up.
“Dad?””
His voice was unusually serious.
“Where is Ryan?””
I froze.
“Why?””
“Because I just received a call from Whitmore & Pierce.””
My fingers tightened around the phone.
“They know.””
My heart began pounding.
“What do they know?””
A pause.
Then my father said,
“They know you're my daughter.””
I closed my eyes.
“And, Maya?””
“Yes?””
“They've also discovered something else.””
“What?””
May you like
His voice dropped.
“Ryan Whitmore's family is trying to buy one of our companies.””
