Chapter 4 - The Billionaire's Biggest Lie
Maya discovered who Ethan was at 6:12 the following morning.
She hadn't been looking for him. She had been searching for information about her father when a news article appeared on her screen: MERCER DYNAMICS FOUNDER FACES BOARDROOM REVOLT AS OLD COMPANY RECORDS RESURFACE.
The photograph showed the man who had shared blueberry muffins with Lily.
Ethan Mercer. Billionaire. Founder. One of Chicago's most influential technology executives.
Maya read the article twice, then watched a video of Ethan stepping out of a luxury car while reporters shouted questions. The man on the screen looked polished, distant, and untouchable.
He also looked exactly like the man who had told her he worked with software.
Her phone buzzed.
You should ask him why your father lost his job.
This time, Maya didn't respond. She opened the article's archive links and found an old report about a data-center incident. Her father had been dismissed shortly afterward for allegedly violating security procedures.
She remembered the years that followed: her mother's exhaustion, unpaid bills, her father's long silences, and the way he had flinched whenever anyone mentioned Mercer Dynamics.
Maya had always believed he had made a mistake at work.
Now she wondered whether someone had made him the mistake.
At 8:30, Ethan called.
She watched the phone ring until it stopped.
He called again.
She answered on the third attempt. “How much of your life is a performance?”
“Maya, please let me explain.”
“Did you know my father?”
“I found out about him yesterday.”
“But you knew who you were. You knew what Mercer Dynamics was. You knew that telling me the truth might change everything.”
“I was afraid you'd see the money before you saw me.”
Her laugh was quiet and bitter. “You made that decision for me. You took away my choice because you wanted to be liked.”
“I know.”
“No, Ethan. You know how to apologize. That's not the same thing.”
She ended the call.
At work that night, Maya tried to concentrate on the security desk, but her supervisor summoned her into his office. A printed copy of her certification application lay on his desk.
“Someone has requested a review of your employment history,” he said.
Maya's blood ran cold.
“Who?”
He turned the paper around.
The request bore the official letterhead of Mercer Dynamics.
May you like
And beside her name was a handwritten note:
REMOVE HER BEFORE SHE FINDS THE ORIGINAL REPORT.
