My Dad is the CEO who wants me Dead

Betrayal

Liam heard the gunshot.

He felt the air move past his face. He heard the crack of the bullet hitting something behind him, the sound of splintering wood.

But he didn't feel the impact.

Because Maya hadn't aimed at him.

Elena screamed. Liam spun around and saw her crumpled on the ground, her hands over her head, shaking like a leaf.

The bullet had hit the wall right behind where she'd been standing.

Maya lowered the gun, her face pale. "I missed on purpose."

Liam stared at her. "What—"

"The gun was aimed at you," Maya said, her voice shaking. "I was supposed to kill you. Both of you. That was the job."

Liam's brain couldn't keep up. "Job? What job?"

"The job Julian gave me." Maya's hands were trembling now. "He planted me at Elysian three years ago. His people trained me. They told me to get close to anyone who might know about the code. And then you showed up, and Mike started acting weird around you, and Julian figured it out."

Liam felt like the floor was falling away from under him. "You've been working for him this whole time?"

"No." Maya's voice cracked. "I mean—yes. But not anymore. I'm done. I'm so done."

"Then why are you standing there with a gun?" Elena shouted, scrambling to her feet. "Why did you just try to kill us?"

Maya looked at the gun in her hand like she'd never seen it before. "I was supposed to bring you both in. Alive. Julian wants to interrogate you, Liam. And he wants to find out what Elena knows about the code. But when I saw you two together—when I saw how much this meant to you—I couldn't do it."

Liam stepped forward slowly, his hands raised. "Put down the gun, Maya. We can figure this out."

"I can't." Maya's voice was barely a whisper. "If I don't bring you in, Julian will kill me. He'll kill my family. He already threatened them."

Elena grabbed Liam's arm. "She's lying. She's trying to trick us."

"No." Liam shook his head. "She's not lying. Look at her face."

Maya was crying now, tears streaming down her cheeks. The gun was shaking in her hands. She looked like a scared kid pretending to be an adult.

"I'm sorry," she sobbed. "I'm so sorry, Liam. I didn't want this. I never wanted any of this. But my little sister—she's only twelve. And Julian's people are watching her. They said if I didn't do what they said, they'd—"

She couldn't finish the sentence.

Liam understood. He understood better than anyone what it felt like to be trapped, to have your choices taken away from you.

"Okay," he said softly. "Okay. We're going to fix this."

"How?" Maya's voice was desperate. "How can we fix this? He owns everything. Everyone. He's going to find us eventually."

"Not if we find him first."

Liam walked toward her slowly. Maya flinched, but she didn't raise the gun.

"Liam, don't—" Elena started.

"Trust me," Liam said without looking back. "Just trust me."

He stopped in front of Maya and looked her in the eyes. She was a mess, her mascara running down her face, her whole body shaking.

"I know what it's like to be afraid," he said. "I've been afraid for five years. Every single day. I thought I could run from it. I thought if I just stayed hidden long enough, everything would be okay."

Maya sniffled. "But it wasn't."

"No." Liam shook his head. "It wasn't. And I'm done running. I'm done letting other people control my life. And I'm done losing people I care about."

Maya's voice was tiny. "You care about me?"

"Mike is dead because of what I did," Liam said. "Elena almost died tonight because of me. I'm not letting anyone else get hurt. Not you. Not your sister."

He reached out and gently took the gun from her hand.

Maya didn't fight it. She just collapsed against him, sobbing into his shoulder.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm so sorry."

"I know." Liam held her, feeling her whole body shake. "I know you are."

Elena watched them, her expression unreadable. "Liam. We need to go. If Julian's people are on their way—"

"Then we take them," Liam said.

Elena's eyes went wide. "What?"

Liam looked at her. The scared janitor who couldn't meet anyone's eyes was gone. In his place was someone harder, sharper. Someone who'd been buried for five years and was finally coming back.

"Maya knows Julian's plan," Liam said. "She knows where he operates, who his people are. If we play this right, we can turn his own game against him."

"You're talking about starting a war," Elena said. "Against one of the most powerful men in the city."

"Yeah." Liam's voice was cold. "I am."

Elena stared at him for a long moment. Then she smiled, a real smile, the kind she used to give him in the old days when they were working on something impossible.

"God," she said. "I missed you."

Liam almost smiled back. Almost.

But then his phone buzzed. He pulled it out and saw a message from an unknown number.

You're smarter than I thought, Janitor. But not smart enough. Check your friend's pocket.

Liam's blood went cold. He looked at Maya.

"What?" she asked.

"Your pocket. Do you have anything in your pocket?"

Maya reached into her jacket and pulled out a small device. A tracker. The kind that broadcast your location to anyone listening.

She dropped it like it was on fire.

"Julian," she breathed. "He must have planted it. He knew I was going to be here."

Liam grabbed Elena's hand. "We need to move. Now."

They ran. Out the back door, into the alley, through the maze of streets that made up the warehouse district.

Behind them, they heard cars screeching to a halt.

"Faster!" Liam shouted.

They burst out onto the main road just as headlights appeared behind them. A black SUV, windows tinted, moving fast.

Liam pulled Elena and Maya into a narrow alley. The SUV zoomed past.

"Where do we go?" Maya gasped.

"I know a place," Elena said. "Follow me."

They ran through the darkness, weaving between buildings, jumping over fences, never stopping.

And deep down, Liam knew.

This was only the beginning.