Chapter 1

Maya Rodriguez knew this was not her life.

This opulent Phoenix penthouse, a gilded cage, was Liam Donovan's monument to his success, and her prison.

Her real life, her mission to find justice for her mother, Elena, was a burning ember she banked deep inside, waiting for the chance to escape and reignite it.

Tonight, that chance felt impossibly distant.

The sound of the front door, then Liam's voice, too loud, too cheerful, echoed through the large space.

He wasn't alone.

Maya stayed in the kitchen, her back to the entry, pretending to be absorbed in wiping an already clean countertop.

Her heart hammered. It was always Sarah Chen with him now.

"Liam, you're a lifesaver," Sarah's voice, sickly sweet, drifted in. "After that disastrous presentation, I needed this."

"Anything for my best PR head," Liam said. His tone was light, but Maya knew the undercurrent. Every word, every gesture in Sarah's presence was a performance for Maya's benefit.

A calculated torment.

For two years, since Liam had found her, dragged her back from the quiet life she'd tried to build after her initial, clumsy attempt to disappear, this had been her reality.

He called it marriage. She called it revenge.

He brought women here. Not often, but enough. Always beautiful, always successful, always a stark contrast to the broken woman he was trying to make of Maya.

But Sarah was different. Sarah was a constant. Sarah was his confidante, his rock, the one who supposedly "understood" him.

Liam walked into the kitchen then, Sarah trailing him. He stopped, looked at Maya, then at the glass in his hand.

"Get us some ice, Maya," he said, his voice flat. He didn't look at her directly.

Then, as if an afterthought, he pulled a hundred-dollar bill from his wallet and tossed it on the counter. "For your trouble."

The casual cruelty of it, the way he equated her to hired help, still found its mark.

Maya's hand tightened on the sponge.

"Liam, can't you see what you're doing?" she finally whispered, her voice hoarse. She looked at Sarah, whose eyes held a flicker of triumph. "With her?"

Liam laughed, a short, harsh sound.

"With her?" he repeated, his eyes cold as a desert night. "Are you jealous, Maya? After all this time, you think you still have the right to be jealous?"

He took a step closer. "Remember Phoenix, five years ago? Remember our dreams?"

A wave of dizziness hit Maya. The past. He always brought it back to the past. The opulent kitchen around her seemed to recede, replaced by images so vivid they stole her breath.

They were young, passionate, sprawled on the floor of their tiny apartment near the university, blueprints for sustainable communities spread around them. Liam's eyes shone with an idealism that had mirrored her own.

"We'll change the world, Maya," he'd said, his arm around her. "Veridian Structures will build a better future."

She'd believed him. She'd loved him with an intensity that scared her.

Then her mother, Elena, a fierce environmental activist, had been murdered. A hit-and-run, the police called it. Maya knew it was Alistair Finch, the corrupt developer her mother had been fighting. Finch's threats had escalated, subtle at first, then chillingly direct. They were aimed at Maya now.

To protect Liam, to keep him from Finch's crosshairs, she'd made an impossible choice.

She told Liam she was leaving for a high-paying corporate job in New York, that his "pipe dreams" weren't enough for her.

She remembered his face, the disbelief, the hurt that quickly turned to anger.

"You're throwing us away for money?" he'd yelled, his voice cracking. "After everything we planned?"

"It's a better offer, Liam," she'd said, her own heart shattering. "I have to take it."

She'd walked away, not looking back, the image of his devastated face burned into her memory.

Liam's sustainable building startup, Veridian Structures, was already struggling. Her departure, coupled with a sudden economic downturn, pushed it to the brink of bankruptcy. He called her, dozens of times, his messages growing more desperate. She never answered. She couldn't. Finch's people were watching.

What he never knew was that she'd used the small inheritance from her mother to create the "Phoenix Fund," a blind trust. She'd anonymously funneled every cent into Veridian. It was her secret lifeline to him, a desperate act to save his dream, even if she couldn't save them.

Sarah, her former roommate, had been there to pick up the pieces for Liam. Sarah, who had always harbored a quiet crush on him. Sarah, who later "miraculously" found an "angel investor" for Veridian, taking all the credit for Maya's anonymous sacrifice.

Veridian Structures had soared. Liam, fueled by bitterness and a desire to prove her wrong, became a titan in the sustainable real estate world.

And then he'd found her. He'd used his wealth and influence to track her down to the small, quiet town where she'd been trying to lay low, planning her next move against Finch.

He hadn't asked for explanations. He'd simply stated, "You owe me. You'll marry me. And you'll pay for what you did."

This penthouse, this life, was her penance.

The raw edges of those memories scraped at her. Her mother's murder. Finch. The threats. That was the real reason she'd left. That was the secret she guarded so fiercely. If Liam knew, Finch would destroy him. And the Phoenix Fund. Her secret gift. He thought Sarah had saved him. The irony was a constant, bitter taste in her mouth. Sometimes, she wondered if there was also a deeper, more physical sacrifice she'd made back then, a blur of hospital lights and pain when Liam had been ill, something her mind had walled off. The doctors had warned her about future complications.

Maya's eyes, probably red-rimmed from unshed tears, met his.

He saw the pain, she knew he did.

"What is it, Maya?" he asked, his voice a fraction softer, almost curious. "Still carrying some hardship? Want to tell me about it?"

He wanted her to break. To confess some selfish motive that would validate his hatred.The present slammed back with the cold reality of Liam's gaze.

She couldn't. She wouldn't. Protecting him, even from himself, was still paramount. And her mission against Finch was everything.

"No hardship, Liam," she said, her voice surprisingly steady. "You're right. I was selfish. I always have been."

She met his gaze, letting him see only the mercenary she pretended to be. Their future was a wasteland, and it was better he believed she'd scorched it herself.