Chapter 6 A Voice from the Grave

Maya's breath was stuck in her throat.

Her fingers gripped the cell phone tightly, her heart pounding against her ribs, as if it might burst from her chest at any moment.

It couldn't be possible. It wasn't possible.

But the voice on the other end? Unmistakable.

"Mom?"

Silence.

Then, a soft, measured inhale. "You shouldn't have married him."

Maya's blood turned to ice.

Her lips parted, but no words came. Finally, they spilled out in a hoarse whisper. "How-how are you alive?"

Alexander approached her cautiously, his injured body tensing as he tried to make sense of the situation. "Maya?"

Liam, gripping the steering wheel so hard his knuckles whitened, shot a glance at her through the rearview mirror. "Who is it?"

Maya ignored them both, her entire world spinning out of control. "Where are you?"

Her mother's voice came through, unusually cool. "Somewhere safe. Somewhere you should be, too."

Maya's throat tightened. "Where were you all these years? I-I thought you were dead."

There was a pause, followed by a soft sigh on the other end of the line. "I had to disappear."

Maya's grip on the phone tightened, her pulse quickening. "Disappear? You abandoned me! I was alone! Do you have any idea-"

"Maya," Alexander interrupted swiftly, his voice cutting through the panic that was starting to rise in her chest.

She looked up at him, tears welling in her eyes. The hurt, the betrayal-it all poured out, the weight of it too much to bear.

"You were never alone," her mother murmured softly. "I put you in care of people I trusted."

Maya's stomach turned violently. "Foster care? You trusted foster care?"

A soft breath came through the phone. "I didn't have an alternative."

Maya's vision blurred. "You let me believe you were dead."

Another long pause before her mother's voice, tinged with sorrow, spoke again. "Because I had to."

Liam's voice, low and dangerous, cut in. "Where are you?"

The line crackled, static filling the air. Maya's heart pounded in her chest as she strained to hear her mother's voice.

"Maya, listen to me," her mother said urgently. "You should leave. Victoria will not stop until you die."

Maya's jaw stiffened. "I already know that."

"No," her mother pressed. "You don't. She doesn't just want you dead-she wants what belongs to you."

Maya's breath stalled, her entire body freezing. She glanced at Alexander, whose eyes darkened at the words.

"What does that mean?" he asked, his voice edged with danger.

Another pause. Then her mother's voice came, low and filled with a quiet fury. "Everything. The Knight fortunes. The power. It should have been yours. But Victoria buried the truth."

Maya felt her body lock up, her mind reeling. The very foundation of her life had been a lie.

Alexander's grip on her hand tightened, and she could feel his pulse racing in sync with hers.

Liam cursed beneath his breath. "And how exactly do we fix that?"

The line crackled again.

"You have to expose her," her mother said, her voice faint, distant now. "Find the ledger. The real one. It has everything-proof of fraud, offshore accounts, illegal transactions. If the world sees it, Victoria won't just fall... she'll burn."

Maya's stomach turned. She glanced at Alexander, who now looked icy-cold, as if something ancient and dangerous was beginning to stir in him.

"The ledger," he muttered quietly, almost to himself.

Maya turned sharply toward him. "You know what she's talking about?"

Alexander's jaw clenched. "It was reported to be real, but nobody ever discovered it."

Maya's head spun. "Where is it?"

Silence.

Then her mother's voice, weak and distant, came through one last time.

"Find it before they find you."

The call cut off abruptly.

Maya's hands trembled as she stared at the screen. "No, no, no!"

She redialed, panic rising in her chest, but there was nothing but silence on the other end.

Her fingers shook uncontrollably. "She's gone."

Liam's grip tightened on the wheel, his jaw set. "We need a strategy."

Alexander let out a slow, controlled breath. "We go to the Knight estate."

Maya turned to face him, disbelief flickering in her eyes. "You can't be real."

Alexander's eyes didn't waver. His face was hard, his focus unwavering. "If that ledger is real, there's only one location it could be."

Liam scoffed from the front seat, his voice tinged with sarcasm. "Victoria's vault?"

Alexander nodded.

Maya stared at them both. "You're suggesting we break into Victoria Knight's private vault? While she's actively trying to kill us?"

Alexander's lips curled into something dark, something dangerous. "Yes."

Maya swallowed hard. "That's suicide."

Liam leaned back, exhaling sharply. "You got an alternative idea?"

Maya ran a hand through her hair, frustration and fear seizing her. "I need just a moment."

She turned toward Alexander, her eyes narrowing with sharp, tense frustration. "You are still bleeding, by the way."

Alexander smirked, though the humor didn't quite reach his eyes. "I noticed."

Maya let out a sharp breath, her heart in her throat. "I swear to God, if you bleed out before we take Victoria down, I will personally kill you."

Alexander's eyes gleamed with a dangerous edge. "You'd miss me too much."

Maya narrowed her gaze. "Don't test me, Knight."

Liam sighed dramatically from the front. "Can we skip the foreplay and focus?"

Maya's face turned bright red. "I-this is not-"

Alexander's smirk widened as he caught her flustered expression.

Liam rolled his eyes. "Let's proceed to the safe house."

The SUV veered off the main road, making its way to a hidden property concealed behind tall iron gates.

Liam parked the vehicle and they climbed out.

Maya reached for Alexander as he stumbled, his injury taking a toll. "You're losing too much blood."

Alexander pressed his lips together in determination. "I'm fine."

Maya shot him a glare. "Shirt off. Now."

His smirk returned, his eyes glinting mischievously. "If you insist."

Maya huffed, her face flushed. "For health reasons, not your big ego."

Alexander raised an eyebrow but complied, drawing his shirt over his head. Maya's breath caught. Even injured, he was all sculpted muscle and strength.

She forced herself to focus. "This is going to hurt."

Alexander chuckled softly. "I'm depending on it."

Maya's heartbeat slowed, though it never quite stilled as she gently applied the moist towel to his wound. He winced but remained silent, his jaw clenched in concentration.

Her fingers were still on his body, heat radiating from him, strength barely held in check.

She swallowed, trying to keep her voice steady. "You need to rest."

Alexander's eyes locked onto hers, intense and unwavering. "I'll rest when she's gone."

Maya's stomach tightened at his words. "Alexander..."

His fingers brushed over hers, sending a surge of heat down her spine.

Maya's breathing became erratic. "You're impossible."

Alexander's smirk returned. "And you're beautiful when you're fretting over me."

For a brief moment, everything seemed to dissolve. Her heart skipped a beat, the world outside fading.

Then-a knock at the door.

Liam's voice was grim. "We have company."

Maya jerked back, her pulse racing.

Alexander's smirk disappeared. "Who?"

Liam's voice was steady, yet grave. "Victoria's men."

Maya's body stiffened, every muscle frozen with fear.

Alexander's fingers tightened around hers.

And just like that-

The hunt began.