He Had $17, One Broken Guitar, and Nowhere to Sleep — Then America’s Biggest Band Called His Name
CHAPTER 5
Three months changed everything.
Ethan stopped sleeping properly.
Interviews.
Rehearsals.
Flights.
Concerts.
Photographers followed him everywhere.
People who had never known his name suddenly wanted to know everything about him.
His childhood.
His relationships.
His father.
His favorite food.
His dreams.
Maya remained the only person who treated him normally.
One night, she found him sitting alone backstage.
“You haven’t eaten.”
“I’m fine.”
“You always say that.”
He smiled.
“You always argue.”
“Because you’re always lying.”
She handed him a sandwich.
He took it.
“Thank you.”
She sat beside him.
“You miss your old life?”
Ethan thought about it.
“I miss being invisible.”
Maya looked at him.
“You don’t.”
“I do.”
“Why?”
“Because when nobody knew me, I knew who I was.”
She didn’t answer.
Instead, she took his hand.
That moment was photographed.
By morning, newspapers had already invented a romance.
Victor wasn’t pleased.
“Relationships damage brands.”
Ethan stared at him.
“She’s not a brand.”
“Everything around you is.”
Ethan’s expression hardened.
Victor smiled.
“Learn that now and you’ll survive.”
Later that evening, Ethan received a package.
Inside was an old photograph.
His father.
Standing beside Daniel.
And three other men.
Behind them was the original Midnight Sons logo.
On the back was a handwritten message:
Your father didn’t leave the band.
Ethan turned the photograph over.
Another line had been written beneath it.
He was forced out.
For the first time, Ethan wondered what Daniel had been hiding.
