Daniel grabbed both my shoulders.
“Maya. Look at me.”
I did.
His eyes were terrified now.
Not for himself.
For me.
“You are NOT trading yourself for me.”
My voice cracked.
“But if they kill you—”
“Then they kill me.”
I started crying harder.
“No…”
He pressed his forehead against mine.
“You hear me? I would rather die than watch them take you.”
That broke something inside me completely.
Then suddenly—
The loudspeaker voice spoke again.
This time colder.
“You have three minutes.”
And then…
…a spotlight from outside snapped on directly through the warehouse entrance.
Blinding white light flooded the room.
And standing inside that light…
…was the man from the coffee shop photo.
The one in the black cap.
The man who had watched me months before I won the lottery.
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