(Maya’s POV)
My phone vibrated in my hand, an unknown number flashing across the screen.
For a split second, my heart skipped—could it be Ryder? Did he finally care that I wasn’t home?
A hopeful smile tugged at my lips as I swiped to answer.
“Hello?”
Silence stretched for a beat, then a chilling voice came through.
“Hello… daughter.”
My blood ran cold.
Daughter?
I hung up immediately before he could say anything else, my hands trembling against the phone.
My father?
Why was he calling me now? After leaving me all alone for years to fend for myself. After believing every lie his so-called wife—my stepmother—Selena, fed him. Meanwhile, she was one of the very people who orchestrated my downfall.
He never even gave me a chance to explain.
And now he was calling me, after four lon
