Chapter 2 THE MAN BEHIND THE OFFER

AND IT COMES WITH ONE CONDITION. Maya stared at the message, waiting for the rest of it to appear. Nothing. She rubbed her thumb over the worn edge of her phone case, then typed. What condition? The reply took a few seconds. Mr. Cole will explain that in person. Maya frowned. Who is Mr. Cole? This time, the typing bubble appeared, disappeared, then returned. Ethan Cole. She knew the name, and so, it seemed, did everyone else. Maya searched for him anyway. The first result was a photo of a man in a dark suit, under a headline: Ethan Cole, CEO of Cole Industries. She locked her phone. "Great." She slipped it into her pocket and looked through the glass panel of Room 314. Her mother was still awake. Maya had promised herself she would not bring the stranger's message into that room. Whatever this was, Sarah had enough to worry about without watching her daughter panic over a number that didn't belong anywhere in their lives. Maya pushed open the door. Sarah glanced up from the television. "You've been standing outside for a while." Maya stopped. "Have I?" "Long enough for me to notice." "Maybe I was admiring the view." Sarah looked toward the window. "Of the parking lot?" "It's surprisingly ambitious." Her mother smiled faintly. Maya moved toward the chair beside the bed and set her bag down. Sarah studied her. "You didn't sleep." "You didn't either." "I had an excuse." "So did I." Sarah's eyes narrowed slightly. There was no accusation in them, only worry, and that was harder to lie to. "What happened?" "Nothing." "Maya." She looked down at her hands. The answer sat inside her phone: five million dollars, a stranger, and a condition nobody would explain. She thought of her mother's warning and kept her mouth shut. "I just have a lot on my mind." Sarah watched her for another moment. "Your bills?" "Those too." That was true enough. Sarah reached for the water beside her bed, but Maya got there first and handed it to her. "You need to stop worrying about me," Sarah said. Maya gave her a look. "That's a terrible suggestion." "I'm serious." "So am I." Sarah took a sip, then settled back against the pillow. "You always think you have to fix everything." "Somebody has to." "Not everything is yours to fix." Maya looked at her mother's tired face. She wanted to ask about the message, and whether five million dollars could really exist in somebody else's world as casually as twenty dollars existed in hers. Instead, she said, "I'll come back after work." "You don't have to." "I know." "But you will." "Probably." Sarah smiled. Maya squeezed her hand before leaving. She didn't mention Ethan Cole. * * * Bell & Bean was already loud when Maya arrived. The grinder screamed behind the counter, the espresso machine hissed, and Jenna was trying to convince a customer that oat milk did, in fact, cost extra. Maya tied her apron around her waist. Jenna glanced over. "You look like you fought with your alarm clock." "The alarm won." "Clearly." Maya reached for the stack of cups. Her thumb found the edge of her phone case through her apron pocket and started rubbing it. Jenna noticed. "You do that when you're stressed." "No, I don't." "You've been doing it for months." "Maybe the phone stresses me out." "Then stop checking it every five minutes." "Now you sound like my mother." "Your mother sounds smart." Maya smiled and turned toward the espresso machine. For the next few hours, she managed to pretend nothing had changed. She took orders, refilled sugar containers, argued with the printer, and burned one croissant, which she blamed on the oven. Mr. Lewis sat at his usual table near the window, reading the newspaper with his coffee beside him. At some point, he lowered the paper. "You look distracted." Maya carried a fresh cup toward him. "I look beautiful." "I said distracted." "Both can be true." He took the coffee. "That's usually how conversations with you work." Maya smiled. "Enjoy your coffee." "I will." Her phone vibrated inside her apron. She waited until she reached the back counter before checking it. This is Evelyn Mercer, Mr. Cole's assistant. Seven tonight. Cole Tower. Main entrance. Maya read it twice. Another arrived. Mr. Cole wants to speak with you directly. Maya typed: Why me? She waited. The answer came. He has his reasons. "That's reassuring," Maya muttered. Jenna looked over. "What?" "Nothing." "You're talking to yourself again." "I have better conversations that way." Jenna laughed and turned back to the register. Maya's phone buzzed again. You don't have to decide anything tonight. Just hear him out. Maya sat with that sentence. Then another appeared. If you don't come, your mother's treatment remains your responsibility. Her thumb stopped moving. It wasn't a threat, exactly, just a reminder of the life waiting for her if she walked away. Maya locked her phone. She hated that the message worked, not because it scared her but because it was true. * * * At five-thirty, Maya left Bell & Bean. She changed out of her apron in the café bathroom, but the coffee stain on her sleeve stayed. She went straight back to Saint Gabriel. Sarah was awake again. "You came back." "I said I would." "You also said you had work." "I finished." Sarah studied her face. "You still look worried." Maya pulled the chair closer. "I'm fine." "You're lying." "That's rude." "It's accurate." Maya smiled despite. She stayed for forty minutes. She didn't tell Sarah about the meeting, the money, or Ethan Cole, not because she trusted him, which she didn't, but because she refused to hand her mother a fear before she knew whether it was real. At 6:30, Maya stood outside the hospital and called a cab. Seven o'clock was getting close. * * * Cole Tower looked bigger than she'd imagined. Maya stood across the street, watching the illuminated windows disappear into the dark above her. She checked her phone. 6:54. Her palms were damp, and she almost laughed at herself. She had faced hospital bills, landlords, double shifts, and doctors who spoke about her mother's condition in numbers she couldn't afford. Yet standing outside a glass building made her want to run. "Ridiculous," she whispered. She crossed the street. The security guard at the entrance looked at her, then at the tablet in front of him. "Ms. Brooks?" Maya stopped. "Yes." "Mr. Cole is expecting you." Of course he was. She stepped inside. The lobby was almost painfully quiet compared with Bell & Bean, with polished stone beneath her shoes and enough empty space to make her suddenly aware of every movement she made. A woman in a charcoal suit approached from the reception desk. "Ms. Brooks. Thank you for coming." "So you're the person sending me mysterious messages." Evelyn's mouth curved slightly. "I suppose that's one way to describe my job." "Is there another?" "I'll let you decide." Maya looked toward the elevators. "Does Ethan Cole always make people come to him?" "Usually." "And you're comfortable with that?" Evelyn considered her. "Comfortable isn't the word I'd use." That answer surprised Maya. The elevator doors opened. Evelyn stepped aside. "You can still leave." Maya looked at her. "Can I?" Evelyn didn't answer. Maya stepped inside, and the doors began to close.