Chapter 2
CHAPTER 3: The Father Who Knew Too Much
Mayor Arman Santoso did not look surprised when Maya entered his office.
That hurt more than if he had.
He was standing near the window, looking down at the city he had spent his life trying to govern. From this height, Jakarta looked beautiful. Lights. Towers. Movement. Promise.
But Maya knew better than most people that beauty from a distance could hide rot up close.
She placed her phone on his desk.
“Did you know?”
Her father turned.
His face was tired.
“Maya—”
“No.” Her voice shook. “Did you know I would be humiliated at that party?”
He looked down at the phone.
The paused image showed Rafael Wardana near the rooftop bar.
Arman closed his eyes.
“I knew there was a risk.”
Maya laughed once, quietly.
“A risk?”
“I did not know they would push you into the pool.”
“But you knew Cassandra and Olivia would target me.”
Her father did not answer.
That was enough.
Maya stepped back from the desk.
“You sent me there.”
“I allowed you to take the assignment.”
“Don’t make it sound softer.”
His face tightened.
“I was investigating their families.”
Maya froze.
Arman walked to his desk and opened a locked drawer. Inside was a folder thick with documents, photographs, property transfers, event sponsorships, shell companies, and hotel invoices.
“The families behind Cassandra and Olivia are not just wealthy,” he said. “They are tied to several city contracts currently under review.”
Maya stared at the files.
“So you used me.”
His expression broke.
“I hoped they would reveal their arrogance in a public setting. I never wanted you hurt.”
“But you were willing to let me be humiliated.”
The sentence landed between them like shattered glass.
For a long moment, Arman said nothing.
Then he whispered, “Yes.”
Maya’s eyes filled.
Not because she was weak.
Because honesty could hurt more than lies.
“You taught me dignity,” she said. “Then you turned mine into evidence.”
Arman looked away.
“I was trying to protect the city.”
“I am your daughter.”
His voice broke.
“I know.”
Maya picked up her phone.
“Then you should have protected me first.”
Before Arman could answer, his office door opened.
Rafael Wardana stepped inside.
He stopped when he saw Maya.
Then he smiled.
Not warmly.
Politically.
“Miss Santoso,” he said. “I was hoping we could discuss the video before it becomes a problem.”
Maya looked at her father.
Then at Rafael.
And suddenly she understood.
May you like
Her father had used her as bait.
But someone else had set the trap.
