At 7:43 on New Year's Eve, a man worth six billion dollars stood humiliated beside a fake plant in a crowded Chicago restaurant. He had a confirmed reservation, but the hostess refused to give him a table, even as other families were seated right in front of him.

Ethan arrived at Maya's apartment the following evening with no flowers, no expensive gifts, and no security team waiting outside.

He carried a folder.

Maya opened the door only because Lily had spotted him through the window and shouted his name with the excitement of a child who still believed adults meant what they promised.

“You shouldn't be here,” Maya said.

“I know.”

“Then why are you?”

“Because someone is trying to destroy your career, and I think it's connected to my company. You deserve to know what I've found.”

She didn't invite him in. He didn't push past her. He simply handed her the folder and waited.

Inside were copies of her father's employment records, the old incident report, and a list of names connected to the data center. Daniel Collins had reported a dangerous cooling-system failure that management had ignored. When the system malfunctioned, an employee had suffered serious injuries. The official investigation blamed a night-shift security breach.

Her father had refused to sign the statement.

Two weeks later, he was fired.

“Why didn't you tell me this sooner?” Maya asked.

“Because I didn't know. I believed the report I'd been given when I took over the company. I should have checked. I should have asked more questions.”

“People lost their jobs because someone powerful decided the truth was inconvenient.”

“Yes.”

“Maybe you didn't order it. But your name is on the building.”

Ethan accepted the accusation without defending himself.

“I won't ask you to trust me. I'll give you the records, and I'll make sure an independent investigator examines everything. You can speak to them without me in the room.”

Maya looked at him for a long moment. “And if the investigation proves your company ruined my father's life?”

“Then the company will have to answer for it. Including me, if I failed to stop it.”

For the first time, she saw something in him that money couldn't manufacture: he was willing to hear an answer he might hate.

Lily appeared in the doorway holding Mr. Buttons.

“Are you two fighting?”

Maya crouched beside her. “We're trying to figure something out.”

Lily considered this, then handed Ethan the stuffed rabbit.

“You can borrow him. He helps people tell the truth.”

Ethan accepted the rabbit with both hands.

As Maya watched them, her phone vibrated again.