Maya pressed the elevator button for the fifteenth floor, checking her phone one last time. The fake engagement ring felt heavy on her finger.
“You seem nervous,” said the man beside her. David Chen, tech entrepreneur, according to his dating profile. Five thousand dollars to play his girlfriend at a family dinner.
Maya: “Just want to get this right. Your parents expect us to be engaged, right?”
David: “For two years now, according to them.”
The elevator lurched suddenly. The lights flickered and died.
Maya: “What just happened?”
David: “Power outage, probably. These old buildings…”
His phone buzzed. In the dim emergency lighting, Maya saw his face change as he read the message.
David: “We need to get out of here. Now.”
Maya: “What’s wrong?”
David started pressing buttons frantically. Nothing happened.
David: “They found me.”
Maya: “Who found you?”
His phone rang. David answered immediately.
David: “Marcus, I’m stuck in the elevator at the Meridian building… No, she’s with me… I know what you said, but she’s not involved.”
Maya’s stomach dropped. She pressed herself against the elevator wall.
Maya: “David, what’s going on?”
David hung up and turned to her, his expression grim.
David: “My real name is Alex Morrison. I’m in witness protection.”
Maya: “You’re what?”
David: “The family dinner was a cover. I needed to meet my handler, but someone leaked the location.”
The elevator shuddered. Maya heard drilling sounds from above.
Maya: “Are they trying to get us out?”
David: “No. They’re trying to get in.”
Maya grabbed his arm.
Maya: “Who are you running from?”
David: “Russian mob. I testified against their money laundering operation last year.”
The drilling stopped. Silence.
Maya: “So this whole fake relationship thing…”
David: “Was supposed to be my cover identity. David Chen, normal guy with a normal girlfriend.”
Maya: “And now?”
David: “Now they know exactly where I am.”
A voice echoed from above the elevator car.
Voice: “Alex Morrison. We know you’re in there.”
Maya: “Oh God.”
David pulled out a gun from his jacket.
Maya: “You have a gun?”
David: “Federal marshals gave it to me. Maya, listen carefully. When these doors open, stay behind me.”
Maya: “I want out of this deal.”
David: “Too late for that.”
The elevator car shook violently. Metal scraped against metal.
Maya: “They’re cutting through the roof.”
David: “There’s something else you need to know.”
Maya: “What now?”
David: “The dating app where you found my profile? It’s run by the marshals. Everyone on there is in witness protection.”
Maya stared at him.
Maya: “You’re saying I’m…”
David: “Check your real last name. Before you moved to Seattle five years ago.”
Maya’s hands trembled as she thought back. Her childhood in Phoenix. The trial. Her father’s testimony.
Maya: “Morrison. My name was Maya Morrison.”
David: “You’re my sister.”
The elevator roof burst open. Three men in black masks dropped down.
Man 1: “Both Morrisons in one place. How convenient.”
Maya: “You knew, didn’t you? When you hired me?”
David: “The marshals set this up. They said keeping us together was safer than keeping us apart.”
Man 1: “Touching family reunion.”
David raised his gun.
David: “Maya, get down.”
The gunshot was deafening in the small space. The first man dropped.
Maya screamed as the second man lunged forward. David tackled him, and they crashed into the elevator buttons.
The doors suddenly opened.
Maya: “David!”
David: “Run!”
Maya stumbled out into the hotel lobby. Federal agents in bulletproof vests surrounded the elevator.
Agent: “Maya Morrison, get back!”
More gunshots echoed from inside the elevator.
Then silence.
Agent Rodriguez emerged, supporting David. Blood stained his shirt, but he was walking.
David: “Is she safe?”
Agent Rodriguez: “Both of you are safe now.”
Maya: “How did you know?”
Agent Rodriguez: “We’ve been tracking the hit squad for weeks. The elevator trap was our idea.”
Maya: “You used us as bait?”
Agent Rodriguez: “We used you as the solution. They wanted both Morrison children dead. Now they’re all in custody.”
David sat down heavily on a lobby chair.
David: “So what happens now?”
Agent Rodriguez: “New identities. New city. But this time, you stay together.”
Maya looked at her brother – really looked at him for the first time in five years.
Maya: “The fake engagement ring?”
David: “Belonged to Mom. I kept it when they relocated me.”
Maya: “All this time, I thought you were dead.”
David: “Same. The marshals said it was safer if we believed that.”
Agent Rodriguez: “The threat’s eliminated. You can be a family again.”
Maya pulled off the engagement ring and handed it back to David.
Maya: “Next time you want to have dinner, just call.”
David: “Deal. But maybe somewhere without elevators.”
Three months later, Maya opened her coffee shop in Portland. The sign read “Morrison & Morrison Coffee.” David walked in at exactly 8 AM, just like every morning.
David: “The usual?”
Maya: “Double espresso, no fake relationships.”
David: “Those days are over.”
Maya smiled as she handed him his coffee. The bell chimed as federal agents entered – their new regular customers, making sure the Morrison siblings stayed safe.
Agent Rodriguez: “Morning, you two.”
Maya: “Morning. Coffee’s on the house.”
Agent Rodriguez: “How’s the real life treating you?”
David: “Much better than the fake one.”
Maya looked around her shop, filled with genuine customers living genuine lives. No more contracts. No more lies. Just family, coffee, and the kind of safety that comes from truth.
The Russian mob’s money laundering ring had been completely dismantled. Twelve convictions. No appeals.
Maya: “You know what’s funny?”
David: “What?”
Maya: “We actually make a good team.”
David: “Always did. We just forgot for a while.”
Maya poured herself a coffee and raised her cup.
Maya: “To real relationships.”
David: “To real relationships.”
They clinked cups as morning sunlight streamed through the windows of their new, honest life.
