Chapter 88

Zoe’s POV

My hands were raw from pounding on the solid oak door, the rhythmic thudding a frantic, desperate beat against the silence.

My breath came in sharp, ragged gasps as I paced the length of the hallway, a small, terrified animal trapped in a corner.

The front door had been left open in my haste, and the sudden sound of four pairs of feet thundering inside made me jump, my heart leaping into my throat.

“Zoe, what is it? What’s wrong?” Daniel’s voice was a panicked roar, a sound I rarely ever heard.

His face was pale with a fear that instantly eclipsed his own exhaustion from the boardroom. He and Jake had burst in, followed closely by my mom and Aunt Lila, their faces still etched with the tension of the day’s battle, now mirroring my own terror.

“It’s… it’s Maya,” I stammered, barely able to breathe. “She’s in there. I’ve been banging on the door for ten minutes. She won’t open it. She said… she said she wanted to end it all.”