Life as Maya Stark • Iron Man's Daughter [ 1 ]

Book One - Prologue

"Momma! I'm home!"

Six year old Maya came bounding in through the front door with a big smile on her face. She had just gotten home from school, so she tossed her backpack on the couch and went into the kitchen where she could hear music coming from.

Maya instantly started giggling when she saw her mother, Sarah, dancing around while taking some cookies out of the oven. Sarah turned around and saw her daughter having a laughing fit. Sarah pretended to be fake hurt and said, "I can't believe my own daughter is laughing at me."

Maya instantly shut up, thinking that her mother was actually hurt. "I'm sorry, Momma," Maya said as she rushed over to Sarah. She quickly hugged her mother and Sarah smiled.

"So, how was school today?" Sarah asked while Maya went to sit at the counter. Maya frowned and Sarah noticed. "That bad, huh?" Sarah muttered. Maya nodded and Sarah frowned. "What happened?" Sarah asked as she handed her daughter a cookie, taking a bite out of her own in the process.

Maya took the cookie and took a bite before saying, "The kids were mean." "Don't worry. You only have to deal with them for another week and then it will be summer. Besides, they're just jealous that a six year old is already almost done with high school," Sarah assured her daughter. "Why did I have to be so perfect and smart?" Maya asked as she took another bite.

Sarah chuckled and said, "You remind me so much of your father sometimes." Maya froze at the mention of her father. "What?" Sarah asked. "You never talk about...him," Maya stated. Sarah frowned at the tone that Maya used when she talked about her father. "Why did you say 'him' like that?" Sarah asked.

"He left you, so therefore I hate him," Maya stated simply. Sarah smiled at her loving daughter. It was nice to know that Maya was always there for her. "Maya, I-" Sarah started to say, but a loud bang was heard near the front door. Sarah froze and Maya scrunched up her nose in confusion. "Maya, get to your room, now," Sarah said. "Momma, what's going on?" Maya asked, but the front door was knocked down.

Maya screamed and Sarah rushed into action. She grabbed Maya and ran up to Maya's room. Maya looked behind her and saw men looking around the living room. They caught sight of Maya and started shouting and running after her.

"Momma, who are those men?" Maya asked. "Come on, baby," Sarah said, ignoring Maya's question. Sarah burst into Maya's bedroom and locked the door. Sarah placed Maya on the bed and grabbed one of Maya's spare backpacks. "Momma," Maya whined.

Sarah ignored her daughter and packed two pairs of clothes, an extra pair of socks and shoes, Maya's invention journal, a hairbrush, a toothbrush, and toothpaste. She looked at her daughter and then decided to put Maya's teddy bear in the bag as well. Sarah could hear footsteps approaching the door.

"Kill the mom, but make sure the daughter is alive!" A man yelled. Maya's eyes widened. "Momma, I'm scared," Maya cried as tears filled her eyes. "It's going to be okay," Sarah assured her daughter. Sarah looked around the room and then saw a tree branch that approached the window. "You see that branch?" Sarah asked her daughter.

Maya nodded. "I want you to climb on to the branch and then carefully climb off the tree," Sarah directed as she pushed her daughter towards the window. "Where's your backpack?" Maya asked as Sarah handed Maya the backpack. The men started banging on the door and juggling the knob. "The thing is, sweetie...." Sarah trailed off when she saw Maya watching her with frightened eyes.