Chapter 5: Into the Lion’s Den

The room was charged with tension, the air so thick Maya felt like she was choking on it. Aidan read the contents of the envelope in silence, his eyes darting across the page as his jaw tightened with every word. Elena leaned casually against the wall, her arms crossed, studying Maya with the kind of detached curiosity that made her skin crawl.

"What does it say?" Maya finally asked, unable to bear the silence any longer.

Aidan looked up, his face grim. "It’s a warning. Vanguard knows your name, Maya. They know where you live, and they’re watching everyone you’ve interacted with—including me."

Her breath caught. "Why? What do they want?"

Elena stepped forward, her sharp heels clicking against the floor. "That’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it?" she said, her tone mocking. "But if Vanguard’s involved, it means you have something—or someone—they want. Badly."

Maya turned to Aidan, panic rising in her chest. "I don’t have anything! I’m just an ordinary person!"

"No one’s ordinary to Vanguard," Aidan muttered, his voice low and bitter. "They don’t waste resources unless there’s a payoff."

Elena smirked. "He’s right. And if I had to guess, this all ties back to your ex-boyfriend. What was his name again?"

"Ethan," Maya said softly, her voice trembling.

Elena’s smirk faltered, her expression sharpening. "Ethan Carter?"

Maya nodded, confusion etched across her face. "You know him?"

Elena let out a humorless laugh. "Oh, I know him. Everyone in the intelligence world knows him. Ethan Carter isn’t some random guy in real estate, Maya. He’s one of Vanguard’s top field operatives. Or at least, he was."

The room seemed to tilt. Maya gripped the edge of the table, her knuckles white. "That’s not possible. He told me he—"

"He lied," Elena interrupted, her tone harsh. "People like Ethan are trained to lie. It’s how they survive. And you? You were either his cover or his mark."

The words hit like a sledgehammer. Maya felt the ground beneath her crumble as the truth began to take shape. Ethan’s late nights, his evasive answers, the way he had always kept a part of himself locked away—it all made sense now.

"Why would he involve me?" she whispered, her voice barely audible.

Aidan stepped closer, his gaze softening. "Maybe he didn’t want to. Maybe you got too close, and it was easier to lie than to tell you the truth. Or maybe..." He hesitated, his voice hardening. "Maybe you were a part of his mission from the start."

Elena crossed her arms, her eyes cold. "Whatever his reasons, it doesn’t matter now. What matters is that you’re in Vanguard’s crosshairs. And if Ethan’s gone rogue, they’ll do whatever it takes to find him—including using you as bait."

"Bait?" Maya’s voice cracked.

"Yes," Elena said bluntly. "And trust me, they won’t be sending flowers next time."

Maya’s mind raced. The rose, the note, the messages—it had all been orchestrated to scare her, to shake her up and make her vulnerable.

"What do we do now?" she asked, her voice trembling.

Aidan exchanged a glance with Elena, a silent conversation passing between them. Finally, he spoke.

"We fight back," he said.

Elena arched an eyebrow. "We? You’re still in the game, Aidan?"

He shot her a look. "If Vanguard thinks they can come after her, they’ve made it my problem."

Maya’s chest tightened. "I don’t want to drag you into this."

"You already have," Aidan said, his tone firm but not unkind. "But you don’t have to do this alone."

Elena sighed, rolling her eyes. "You’re such a sucker for a damsel in distress."

"She’s not a damsel," Aidan snapped. "And if you’re not here to help, you can leave."

Elena smirked but said nothing, her silence an agreement of sorts.

"First things first," Aidan continued, turning back to Maya. "We need to find out exactly what Ethan was working on and why Vanguard thinks you’re the key to finding him."

"How do we do that?" Maya asked, a mixture of fear and determination in her voice.

Aidan’s expression darkened. "We start with the one place Ethan would never want us to go."

Maya’s stomach dropped. "His apartment?"

Aidan nodded. "If there are answers, that’s where they’ll be."

Elena scoffed. "Bold move, considering Vanguard is probably already watching it."

"Then we’ll have to move fast," Aidan said, grabbing a small duffel bag from under the desk. He handed Maya a black hoodie. "Put this on. We need to stay as low-profile as possible."

Maya took the hoodie, her hands trembling slightly. As she slipped it over her head, she caught Aidan’s gaze. There was something steady in his eyes, something that made her believe, if only for a moment, that they might actually stand a chance.

"Let’s go," Aidan said, his voice steady.

As they stepped out into the night, Maya couldn’t help but feel like she was walking into the lion’s den. But if Ethan had betrayed her, if he had lied about everything—she needed to know.

Even if it meant risking everything to find the truth.

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