THE LAST PROMISE. Chapter One — The Stranger in Room 17
926 Words
Bellwood was the kind of town where everyone knew everyone.
At least, that was what people believed.
For twenty-eight-year-old Maya Carter, Bellwood had always been a place of secrets disguised as smiles.
She knew because she had spent most of her life writing about them.
Maya was a writer who had returned to Bellwood after seven years in New York, carrying two suitcases, an unfinished manuscript, and a reason she wasn't ready to explain.
Her reason was sitting at the center of the town.
The Reed family mansion.
Everyone in Bellwood knew the Reeds.
They owned the largest construction company in the county, several hotels, farmland stretching beyond the hills, and half the businesses on Main Street.
Their youngest son, Daniel Reed, was the most talked-about member of the family.
Thirty-one.
Brilliant.
Wealthy.
Powerful.
And completely impossible to understand.
Maya had known Daniel before the money.
Before the expensive cars.
Before newspapers started calling him a billionaire.
Before his family's name became something people whispered whenever trouble appeared.
They had been best friends once.
Then they had fallen in love.
Then something had happened.
And Maya had left.
Now she was back.
She hadn't planned to see Daniel.
Not tonight.
The small hotel where she was staying had only seventeen rooms, and Room 17 was directly across from the lounge.
Maya sat alone at the bar, working on her laptop.
She had been staring at the same sentence for ten minutes when someone sat on the stool beside her.
“Writer's block?”
She looked up.
The stranger was dressed simply, but there was something unusual about him.
He wasn't trying to impress anyone.
That alone made Maya suspicious.
“Do I know you?”
“No.”
“Then why are you talking to me?”
He smiled.
“Because you looked like you needed someone to interrupt you.”
Maya almost laughed.
“That's a terrible reason.”
“Yet you stopped writing.”
She glanced at her laptop.
He was right.
She closed it.
“Congratulations.”
“Thank you.”
There was something strangely familiar about his voice.
“What brings you to Bellwood?” Maya asked.
“Family.”
Her expression changed.
“That's unfortunate.”
He laughed.
“You don't like families?”
“I don't like complicated ones.”
He studied her.
“Then you've come to the wrong town.”
Maya looked at him carefully.
“What's your name?”
“Ethan.”
“Last name?”
“Not tonight.”
She raised an eyebrow.
“That's mysterious.”
“That's intentional.”
They talked for almost an hour.
Books.
Money.
Family.
Regrets.
Dreams.
Maya discovered that Ethan was unusually intelligent. He could discuss mathematics, business, literature and technology without making any of it sound like work.
But he avoided questions about himself.
Eventually, Maya stood.
“I should go.”
Ethan nodded.
“Goodnight, Maya.”
She stopped.
“How do you know my name?”
For the first time, his smile disappeared.
He looked toward the hotel entrance.
“Because everyone in Bellwood knows who you are.”
Maya felt uneasy.
She hadn't told him her name.
Before she could ask another question, Ethan walked away.
The following morning, Maya woke to three missed calls.
All from an unknown number.
She ignored them.
Then came a knock.
She opened the door.
A woman stood outside.
Maya recognized her immediately.
Victoria Reed.
Daniel's mother.
The most powerful woman in Bellwood.
“Maya.”
“Mrs. Reed.”
“May I come in?”
Maya hesitated before stepping aside.
Victoria entered.
She looked around the small room.
“You're really staying here?”
“For now.”
“You could stay at the mansion.”
“No.”
Victoria sighed.
“You haven't changed.”
“Neither have you.”
The older woman looked at her.
“I need your help.”
Maya's expression hardened.
“Why?”
“Daniel is in trouble.”
Maya's heart skipped.
“What kind of trouble?”
Victoria lowered her voice.
“Someone is trying to destroy our family.”
Maya stared at her.
“Who?”
“We don't know.”
“And you want me to investigate?”
“No.”
Victoria placed an envelope on the table.
“I want you to write.”
Maya frowned.
“Write what?”
“The truth.”
Victoria walked toward the door.
Before leaving, she turned.
“And Maya?”
“Yes?”
“Don't trust anyone you met last night.”
Maya's stomach tightened.
“How did you know I met someone?”
Victoria didn't answer.
She simply left.
Maya stood frozen.
Then she opened the envelope.
Inside was a photograph.
It showed Daniel standing beside a man.
The man was Ethan.
On the back of the photograph were six words:
HE KNOWS WHAT HAPPENED TO DANIEL'S FATHER.
Maya's hands began to shake.
Daniel's father had supposedly died from a heart attack four years earlier.
Everyone believed it.
Everyone except Daniel.
Her phone rang.
Unknown number.
This time, she answered.
A man's voice whispered:
“Stop asking questions.”
Maya's heart pounded.
“Who are you?”
“You were warned.”
The call ended.
Maya slowly lowered the phone.
Outside her window, a black SUV was parked across the street.
Someone was sitting inside.
Watching her.
And then Maya realized something even more frightening.
The stranger from the night before wasn't the only person who knew she had returned to Bellwood.
Someone had been waiting for her.
To be continued…
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