Chapter 1

I loved Ethan Cole for a whole year.

Every day felt like a dream.

Tonight was the gala.

My father, Ricardo Rodriguez, was hosting it.

He was celebrating the new community center.

I was so proud of him.

And Ethan would be by my side.

I smoothed my dress, my heart beating fast.

This night felt special, like the start of everything.

The ballroom buzzed with important people.

Laughter and music filled the air.

Dad stood on stage, handsome and confident.

He spoke about giving back to Sonora Vista.

I watched him, my eyes shining.

Ethan squeezed my hand, his smile warm.

"Your father is a great man, Maya," he whispered.

I leaned my head on his shoulder, completely happy.

Then the main doors burst open.

Men in dark uniforms swarmed in.

DEA.

Panic erupted.

Screams.

Confusion.

Ethan let go of my hand.

He walked towards my father.

His face was different now.

Cold.

Hard.

He pulled out a badge.

"Rick Rodriguez," Ethan's voice cut through the noise, sharp and unfamiliar.

"You're under arrest for the murder of Officer Sarah Miller and heading a narcotics trafficking ring!"

Sarah Miller.

My mother.

The mother I thought died in a car crash.

My breath hitched.

The world tilted.

My perfect life shattered in one night.

My father, a pillar of the community, was a criminal.

My mother, murdered by him.

And Ethan, my Ethan, was the architect of this destruction.

He was a hero on the news the next day.

Agent Ethan Cole, the man who brought down El Martillo.

I was just the daughter of a monster, the lover of a liar.

Everything was gone.

I remember the scene again and again.

Ethan, no, Agent Cole, approached my father.

His movements were precise, professional.

He didn't look at me.

He held up his badge, the gold eagle glinting under the chandeliers.

"DEA. We have a warrant for your arrest."

Two agents flanked him, their guns ready.

My father's face, usually so composed, turned pale.

But he didn't speak.

Not yet.

"Ethan? What is this? Is this some kind of joke?"

My voice was a thin thread.

I stepped forward, reaching for him.

"Stop this, it's not funny."

He didn't even glance at me.

His eyes were fixed on my father.

"This is not a joke, Maya," he said, his voice flat.

My mind couldn't accept it.

This couldn't be real.

Dad looked at me then.

Just a quick glance.

His eyes held a universe of emotions I couldn't decipher.

Pain, regret, and something like... resignation.

He sagged a little, the fight going out of him.

That look confirmed it.

The horrible truth Ethan had spoken.

My father didn't deny it.

"No! Dad wouldn't! He helps people!"

I cried out, rushing towards my father.

"He built the community center! He gives to charity!"

My pleas sounded weak, even to my own ears.

Two agents blocked my path.

I looked at Ethan, begging with my eyes.

"Ethan, please, there's a mistake."

Ethan finally looked at me.

His eyes were ice.

"There's no mistake, Maya."

"The evidence is overwhelming."

"Your father is El Martillo."

His words were like stones, heavy and cold.

No warmth, no love.

Just duty.

Suddenly, a pop.

A gunshot.

Someone near my father, a panicked bodyguard maybe, fired a weapon.

Chaos exploded.

Screams intensified.

Ethan moved, his training kicking in.

But I was closer.

I didn't think.

I just reacted.

I threw myself in front of Ethan.

A searing pain tore through my shoulder.

I gasped, stumbling.

Red bloomed on my dress.

"Maya!"

My father's voice, raw with terror.

He lunged for me, his face a mask of anguish.

But Ethan was faster.

He tackled Dad, cuffing him swiftly.

"Damn it, Rick! Look what you've done!" Ethan snarled.

Dad looked at my fallen form, then at the ruined gala.

The beautiful ice sculpture of a phoenix had shattered.

"My charity... my gala..." he whispered, defeated.

"It's all ruined."

Ethan pushed my father towards the other agents.

He turned back to me, his face unreadable.

He knelt, but kept a distance.

"Don't move, Maya. You're hit."

His voice was professional, detached.

Like he was talking to a stranger.

"Stay away from him," he ordered, nodding towards my father.

"He's dangerous."

Tears streamed down my face, mixing with the blood.

The physical pain was nothing compared to the agony in my heart.

"You lied to me," I choked out.

"All this time... our love... it was all a lie?"

The man I loved, the man I thought loved me, was a stranger.

A cold, calculating agent who used me.

My world had not just collapsed.

It had been a carefully constructed illusion, and he had just ripped it apart.

Ethan looked down, avoiding my gaze for a moment.

Then his eyes, hard and unwavering, met mine.

"I'm sorry for your pain, Maya."

His voice was devoid of any real emotion.

"It was necessary for the task."

Task.

Our year together, our love, was just a task for him.

The word echoed in the ruins of my heart.