CHAPTER 13

“They’re herding us,” Alex muttered as they moved cautiously through Davis Corp’s underground parking level. The fluorescent lights overhead flickered intermittently, casting eerie shadows on the concrete walls. Every security camera they passed was dark, the lenses lifeless.

"The working elevators, the accessible routes..." Maya's voice trailed off as realization struck her. "They’re leading us exactly where Luca wants us."

She checked her phone again—still no signal from Zane. Her stomach twisted with dread, but she forced herself to focus. There was no time for fear.

The maintenance tunnels stretched ahead of them, long and silent except for the occasional drip of water echoing off the walls. Maya’s shoulder throbbed with each step, the dull pain a reminder of how far her limits had been pushed. But adrenaline drove her forward. Somewhere above them, her father was coordinating the quiet evacuation of employees, using a staged fire drill as a cover. It was the best they could do without causing widespread panic.

“There,” Alex said, pointing to a patch of scuff marks on the floor. "Fresh. Someone’s been here recently."

Maya followed his gaze and nodded, her grip tightening on the handgun Zane had insisted she carry. They moved together, their steps light but deliberate. Around the next corner, Alex stopped abruptly, kneeling in front of an electrical panel. He pried it open with practiced ease, revealing a device hidden inside.

“First one,” he muttered grimly. “Right where we predicted.”

Maya stood guard, scanning the shadows behind them. Her heartbeat thundered in her ears as she tried to listen for movement.

"Armed," Alex reported, pulling back slightly. "But not how we expected." He frowned. "These aren’t demolition charges. They’re—"

“Decoys,” a familiar voice interrupted. “Meant to keep you busy down here.”

Maya spun around, her blood turning cold. Luca stepped out from the shadows, his silver eyes gleaming with cruel amusement. He looked exactly like his brother, but colder, sharper—his smile all malice and no warmth. Two armed men flanked him, their weapons trained on Maya and Alex.

“Maya Davis,” Luca said, his voice almost mockingly cordial. “The woman my brother loves. How disappointing to find you’re just as predictable as he is.”

“Where’s Isabella?” Maya demanded, forcing her voice to stay steady.

“Oh, having a similar conversation with my dear brother, I imagine.” Luca stepped closer, the polished soles of his shoes clicking softly against the concrete. “Did you really think we wouldn’t plan for this? That we didn’t know exactly how you’d react?”

A phone rang, sharp and intrusive in the tense silence. Luca smirked as he answered, putting the call on speaker.

“Right on schedule,” he said into the phone, his eyes never leaving Maya’s. Then he held it out toward her. “Would you like to hear your boyfriend die?”

Maya’s stomach twisted. “Don’t—”

Isabella’s voice echoed through the tunnel, smooth and laced with venom. “Say goodbye to your love, Zane. Maya’s about to join your sister in the family tragedy.”

“No!” Zane’s voice cut through, rough with pain. “Isabella, don’t—”

A gunshot cracked through the speaker.

“Zane!” Maya’s cry was raw, her voice breaking. “Zane!”

Silence.

Luca ended the call with a press of his thumb, his smirk widening. “And then there was one.”

Maya staggered back a step, her mind reeling. For a moment, all she felt was an icy numbness. But then something shifted inside her. Grief solidified into rage, burning away her fear. She saw Alex tense beside her, ready to act.

“Why?” she demanded, her voice trembling but steadying with each word. “All of this... for what?”

“Because he took everything from me,” Luca snarled, his composure fracturing. The hatred in his eyes was palpable. “The company, our parents’ love, even Isabella. Everything I touched, he somehow claimed. So I decided to take everything from him. Starting with you.”

“You’re lying.” Maya’s mind worked furiously, dissecting his words. “Isabella was working with Donovan before you ever came back. This isn’t about Zane at all, is it?”

Uncertainty flickered in Luca’s expression, just for a moment.

Maya pressed on. “The offshore accounts. The long game. Isabella wasn’t helping you destroy Zane. You were helping her destroy both companies. You’re just another pawn in her game.”

“Shut up,” Luca snapped, raising his gun. “You don’t know anything.”

“I know she’s playing you just like she played Donovan. Like she played all of us.” Maya took a cautious step forward, ignoring Alex’s sharp intake of breath. “Think, Luca. Who benefits most if both companies fall? Who’s been manipulating both sides from the start?”

“I said shut up!” Luca’s voice cracked, and his hand trembled.

Maya’s phone buzzed suddenly, a single text lighting up the screen: “NOW.”

She dove right as Alex lunged to the left. The tunnel plunged into darkness as gunfire erupted, the sharp cracks deafening in the confined space. Muzzle flashes lit the chaos in brief, blinding bursts.

When emergency lights flickered back on, Luca’s men lay sprawled on the ground. At the entrance to the tunnel, Charles Davis stood flanked by security forces, their weapons trained on Luca.

“Drop it,” Charles ordered, his voice steely.

Luca let out a broken laugh, the sound echoing eerily. “You still don’t understand,” he said, his hand hovering over a small device in his pocket. “This was never about the bombs. Or the companies.” His thumb pressed down.

Throughout the building, red warning lights began flashing. A disembodied voice echoed through the tunnels: “Quarantine protocols engaged. Biohazard detected. Building lockdown initiated.”

Horror dawned on Maya as a memory clicked into place. Isabella’s specialty before leaving Moretti Industries had been cutting-edge biochemical engineering.

“The maintenance crews,” she whispered. “They weren’t planting bombs. They were…”

“Seeding both buildings with a custom virus,” Luca finished, his smile twisted. “Isabella’s parting gift. She does love her experiments.”

Maya’s phone lit up again—a new signal. Zane’s tracker. It was moving, fast. Relief surged through her—he was alive. But the realization hit just as quickly: he was headed straight for Moretti Industries, where Isabella waited with the real weapon.

“The bombs were theater,” Maya said, her voice shaking as she pieced it together. “To keep everyone focused on structural damage while the virus spread through the air systems.”

“Very good.” Luca raised his gun again, his hand steady now. “Unfortunately, none of you will live long enough to—”

A single shot rang out, cutting him off. Luca staggered and crumpled, clutching his shoulder. Alex stepped forward from the shadows, his gun still raised. His face was hard, his voice quiet.

“That’s for Elara.”

Maya didn’t pause. She grabbed Alex’s arm, her urgency overriding her pain. “Dad, get everyone out! Full contamination protocols!” Turning to Alex, she barked, “We have to get to Moretti Industries. Now.”

“Maya, you’re hurt—”

“Isabella has the virus trigger,” she interrupted. “And Zane’s walking right into it.”

Behind them, quarantine barriers began to seal, cutting off sections of the building. Sirens wailed, warning of a danger far greater than fire or bombs. And somewhere across the city, the man she loved was racing toward the same deadly trap.

Her shoulder screamed in protest as she sprinted through the tunnel, but she didn’t slow. Because Luca had been wrong about one thing.

This wasn’t about watching everything burn.

This was about saving everything that mattered.

And she wouldn’t let Isabella win.