POV: Maya Chen
We run.
Ashton pulls me toward the emergency stairs while Victor grabs his gun and starts shooting at the shadows moving through the dark building.
"GO!" Victor yells. "I'll hold them off!"
"But—" I start.
"I've been killing you for a hundred years to save the world," Victor shouts. "Let me save you for real this time!"
Ashton drags me into the stairwell. We run down the stairs, our footsteps echoing. Behind us, I hear gunshots. Screaming. My father is fighting The Architects' army alone.
"We have to help him!" I try to turn back.
"He's buying us time. Don't waste it." Ashton pulls me down faster. We're on the 48th floor. Then the 45th. Then the 40th.
The lights flicker back on. That's when I see them—men in black suits coming up the stairs from below. At least twenty of them. Blocking our escape.
"Going somewhere, Phoenix?" The leader smiles. He's young, maybe thirty, with cold eyes. "The Architects have been very patient. But your awakening period is over. Time to come home."
Ashton pushes me behind him. "She's not going anywhere with you."
"Ashton Xu. The boy who's been reborn fifteen times trying to save her." The leader laughs. "You're persistent. We respect that. But you're also annoying. We've killed you twelve times. When will you learn?"
"Never," Ashton says.
The leader pulls out a gun. So do the other men. Twenty guns pointed at us.
"Last chance. Give us the Phoenix, and we'll let you start a new timeline. We'll even let you keep your memories. You can have a nice, peaceful life without her."
I feel Ashton's body tense. For a second, I think he's actually considering it.
Then he laughs. "I've lived fifteen timelines. Fourteen of them without her were absolutely miserable. So no. You can shoot me, but you're not taking her."
The leader shrugs. "Your funeral."
He aims at Ashton's head.
I scream and close my eyes.
A gunshot explodes through the stairwell.
But Ashton doesn't fall.
The leader does.
I open my eyes. Sophie stands at the bottom of the stairs, holding a smoking gun. "GET DOWN HERE NOW!"
We run. Sophie shoots three more men, clearing a path. We burst through an exit door into an underground parking garage.
Sophie's car is running, doors open. "GET IN!"
We jump in. Sophie floors the gas pedal, and we speed out of the garage. Behind us, more men in black suits pour out, shooting at the car. Bullets hit the back window, shattering it.
"DUCK!" Sophie yells.
I duck. Ashton covers my body with his. Glass rains down on us.
Sophie drives like she's insane, taking sharp turns through the city streets. Finally, after ten minutes, we lose them.
She parks in an abandoned warehouse district and turns to face us.
"You two are idiots," Sophie says flatly. "Going to Chen Group alone? Really?"
"You tried to blow me up!" I yell.
"No, I tried to blow up The Architects' agents who were waiting for you at the café!" Sophie throws a folder at me. "I've been tracking them for three timelines. I knew they'd ambush you. The bomb was meant to kill THEM, not you!"
I open the folder. Photos of the men who just attacked us. All of them at the Silver Moon Café this morning, setting up cameras and weapons.
"You... you were protecting me?"
"Of course I was protecting you!" Sophie looks hurt. "You're my best friend. I've died trying to save you twice. Why would I want to kill you?"
"Ashton showed me a video of you smothering me with a pillow—"
Sophie's face goes white. "Timeline 9. You had terminal cancer. You begged me to end your suffering. So I did." Tears fill her eyes. "It was the hardest thing I've ever done, Maya. And Ashton knows that. He was there. He watched me cry for three days straight afterward."
I look at Ashton. "Is that true?"
Ashton won't meet my eyes. "I... I needed you to trust me instead of her. So I showed you that video without context. I'm sorry."
I punch his arm. Hard. "You manipulated me!"
"Yes. Because The Architects have been using your trust against you for a century. They keep turning you against the people who actually want to help you." Ashton pulls out a thick contract from his jacket. "Which is why I'm offering you something they can't take away. Legal protection. My name. My power."
He hands me the contract. The title reads: "Marriage Agreement - Ashton Xu & Maya Chen."
"Marry me," Ashton says seriously.
I almost laugh. "You're insane."
"I'm practical. If we're married, you get access to all my resources. My lawyers. My security team. My company's protection. The Architects can't touch you without starting a war with Xu Corporation." His eyes are intense. "Use my name to destroy everyone who hurt you—Jennifer, Derek, Lily, The Architects. All of them. In return, just stay alive. That's all I want."
"That's crazy!" I look at Sophie for support.
Sophie shrugs. "Actually, it's genius. Marriage gives you legal rights to his fortune. If The Architects kill you, Ashton inherits your Phoenix powers and becomes the next target. They won't risk it."
"Phoenix powers?" I stare at her. "What powers?"
"You don't know?" Sophie looks surprised. "Maya, you're immortal. Every time you die, you come back. That's incredibly valuable. The Architects have been trying to capture you and study you for a century. But if you're married to Ashton, killing you just transfers your curse to him. They lose their prize."
My head spins. "I need time to think—"
"We don't have time." Ashton points out the warehouse window. Black cars are pulling up outside. The Architects found us. "They have a tracker on one of us. We need to split up. But before we do, I need you to sign this. It's the only way to keep you safe."
He pulls out a pen.
"What do you get from this?" I demand. "Really. What's in it for you?"
Ashton's mask cracks. His voice breaks. "You. Alive. Safe. Happy. That's all I've wanted since Timeline 7 when I held you while you died and couldn't do anything to save you. I've spent eight lifetimes watching you suffer. Just once, I want to see you survive. Even if you never love me back. Even if you divorce me the second this is over. I just want you to live."
His words hit me like a truck. This man has loved me across timelines. Died for me. Lived fifteen lives trying to save me. And he's asking for nothing except my survival.
"Give me the pen," I say.
I sign the contract. Maya Chen becomes Maya Xu.
Ashton signs too. His hand is shaking.
Sophie takes the contract. "I'll file this tonight. Legally, you're married now."
"We need to move," Ashton says. "Sophie, take Maya somewhere safe. I'll lead The Architects away—"
"No," I grab his hand. "We just got married. You're not dying for me on our wedding day."
He smiles. A real smile. "That's very romantic."
"Shut up."
Sophie's phone buzzes. She reads the message and her face goes grey. "We have a problem. The Architects just sent me a video. You need to see this."
She shows us her phone.
The video shows my father Victor, tied to a chair. His face is bloody. The leader of The Architects stands behind him.
"Hello, Phoenix," the leader says to the camera. "We have your father. You have one hour to surrender yourself, or we'll reset him. Oh, you don't know what that means? Let me show you."
He touches Victor's head.
My father screams. His body convulses. Then he goes still. When he opens his eyes again, they're empty. Blank.
"Resetting someone erases their memories of all timelines. They become a blank slate. We can reprogram them however we want." The leader smiles. "One hour, Phoenix. Come to us, or your father forgets he ever loved you. Your choice."
The video ends.
I can't breathe. They can erase memories. They can make my father forget everything—including the hundred years he spent trying to protect me.
"I have to go," I say.
"It's a trap," Ashton warns.
"I don't care. He's my father."
Sophie grabs my shoulders. "Maya, if they reset you, you'll lose everything. All your memories of your first life. Of this rebirth. You'll become their puppet."
"Then we break in and save him before they can reset me," I say. "Where are they holding him?"
Sophie checks her tracking system. "Chen Group building. Top floor. They never left."
The same place we just escaped from. They're waiting for us to come back.
"This is suicide," Ashton says.
"Then die with me, husband." I look him in the eyes. "Isn't that what marriage is? Till death do us part?"
Ashton's smile is sharp and dangerous. "I've married you in three different timelines. Death has never stopped me before."
He pulls out his phone and makes a call. "Marcus, gather everyone. We're going to war."