It's been three days since I turned off my phone and cut off all those annoying notifications.
When I finally switched it back on, the screen exploded with alerts, dozens of missed calls from Leonardo, a few messages from Sebastian.
I didn't open a single one from Leo. I didn't feel like it.
Instead, I looked up Rose's number, Nathan's secretary and asked for Nathan's contact. I told her I wanted to talk to him, and surprisingly, she gave it to me without much questioning. Ten minutes later, I was already typing a message.
{Hey Mr. Nathan, it's Emily. Got a minute to talk?}
His reply came fast. Friendly. Warm. A little too enthusiastic.
{Sure! I wanted to talk too. Let's meet up.}
We agreed to meet that afternoon at a coffee shop downtown. It was fairly busy but not noisy, the perfect place to pretend to have a casual chat while quietly sizing each other up.
Nathan arrived first. He waved the moment I walked in, and his smile as always was too wide for someone who barely knew me.
"I ordered a latte. You want the same?" he asked, standing up.
I nodded. "Sure. I'm not picky about coffee."
Once we sat down, I realized one thing about him, Nathan could never shut up. He started talking immediately, like someone who'd been holding words in for days.
I didn't even have to bother making up stories about how annoying Leo was to get him talking. It just flowed out of him like a river.
"You know," he said, leaning back in his chair, "Leo hasn't changed a bit. Still arrogant as hell. Always thinks he's the smartest, the best, the everything."
I looked at him with a neutral face, pretending to be interested. "Oh, really?"
"Yeah," Nathan nodded quickly. "He's a bully, Emily. Back in middle school, he once did something insane just because he was jealous. Look at this."
He pointed at a faint scar above his left eyebrow, a thin line from an old stitch. "Thanks to him."
I pretended to be shocked. "He… did that?"
Nathan chuckled a little, clearly enjoying the attention. "The reason was ridiculous. I won a soccer tournament between schools, while he won a math contest. The girl he liked back then was more into sports, and he couldn't handle it. So when I went to show him my trophy, his eyes went red and, bam!" He mimed the motion of striking. "He broke my trophy and hit me with the pieces. That's how I got this."
I stared at the scar again, pretending to be horrified. "That's… terrible."
"Exactly." Nathan shrugged. "That's why I always say, people like him don't change. He's been blaming everyone else his whole life. It's pathetic."
I gave a small smile. "I didn't expect that. He seems… calm."
Nathan scoffed. "Calm because people are scared of him. No one dares to go against him. The only one who sticks around is Sebastian and that's just because Sebastian doesn't have a choice. He's like a trained dog."
I went silent. Something in my chest throbbed.
I didn't know why, but hearing Sebastian being called that pissed me off. I didn't know him that well, but he'd always been kind to me.
And honestly? If Leo wasn't a murderer and an asshole, I'd probably want to stay friends with Sebastian. Hearing Nathan degrade him like that, I was irritated.
But I said nothing. I wasn't here to defend anyone.
"I get why you're tired of working under him, let alone being his wife," Nathan continued, his tone softer now. "It can't be easy, huh?"
I shrugged. "Sometimes… yeah. But I think he's just tough because he's not used to people."
Nathan leaned in, his smile fading. "Tough? Emily, sometimes tough is just another word for cruel."
I pretended to think for a moment, then redirected the topic. "When was the last time you saw him?"
Nathan paused, stirring his coffee with a spoon. "A few weeks ago. He said something weird, actually."
"Weird how?"
He looked at me curiously. "He mentioned reopening an old file. Did he tell you about that?"
I held back a smirk. Jackpot.
I nodded slowly. "Yeah, he mentioned that at the office. But… I never saw the file on the computer, not even in the internal database. I was wondering if it's a secret project. Hmm, Orion-78, if I'm not mistaken."
Nathan stared at me for several seconds without a word. His gaze sharpened before he let out a long sigh. "That's not a regular project," he said at last. "It's not some donation or partnership with Heaven Fondation like people think."
"Then what is it?"
Nathan went quiet. "I tried to stop Leo when he started talking about it again. But he's… stubborn."
What? Did he just dodge the question?
I leaned forward a little, studying him carefully. "Why would you try to stop him?"
"Because it's dangerous."
I waited. He didn't continue right away, just kept spinning his cup slowly, like he was weighing how much he should reveal.
"Emily," he finally said, in an almost theatrically serious way, "someone was killed because of that project. And Leo… he didn't care. All he cared about was his ambition."
I feigned surprise, though my heart instantly tightened. "Killed? Who?"
Nathan looked straight at me. "A cop. I don't know the details, but apparently he was on his way to arrest Leo when it happened."
The world froze for a split second. My hand, which had been holding the cup, started trembling. I quickly set it down. My face stayed blank, but I could feel heat creeping up my neck.
"Excuse me," I said quietly, pretending to choke up. "I need to go to the restroom."
Nathan immediately nodded. "Sure. Take your time."
Once inside the bathroom, I locked the door and stared at my reflection in the mirror. My breathing was heavy, like my lungs refused the air. Tears came out of nowhere, uninvited.
Turns out, I still wasn't ready to hear it all laid out like that. Leo was really my prime suspect now.
I forced myself to breathe. One, two, three. Inhale, exhale.
My body slowly calmed down, though my head still throbbed.
When I came back to the table, Nathan was glancing at his watch. "You were in there for five minutes," he said, sounding genuinely worried. "You okay?"
I smiled faintly, lowering my head so he wouldn't see my face clearly. "I just… felt nauseous. I don't know why, but every time we talk about Leo, it feels heavy. I've had panic attacks before, maybe it's back."
Nathan looked truly concerned. "That's not good, Em. You should see a therapist."
"I have," I said softly. "Maybe I just need some rest."
I stood up, grabbing my bag. "I'll head out first. Thanks for listening."
"Okay, take care," Nathan said with a warm smile.
Just as I got up, a camera flash went off from outside the window. Both Nathan and I instinctively turned our heads. A man quickly turned away and hurried off with his camera.
Nathan sighed. "Great. Tomorrow we'll probably be in some gossip headline, Jonathan Rhys caught having coffee with his brother's secretary."
He laughed lightly, but I only gave a faint grin. "Well, that's not good."
"It's fine, I'll take care of it. You go home and rest, let's talk again later."
~~~~~
That night, I finally made it back to Slither Ring. The narrow corridor buzzed as usual, filled with familiar and unfamiliar faces. I wasn't as involved in the operations anymore.
As soon as I walked into the main room, Juno was already sitting with her laptop open. Her fingers flew across the keyboard, eyes glued to the screen.
"Where've you been?" she asked without looking up.
"Out," I said casually, taking off my jacket and dropping my bag onto a chair. "Why?"
"You never go out unless there's a reason."
I didn't answer, just raised an eyebrow and smiled faintly.
Then I caught sight of something in the corner, Max was chatting with a guy I'd never seen before. Tall, built, messy dark hair.
I leaned closer to Juno and whispered, "Who's that?"
"Newcomer," she replied quickly. "Name's Luke. Been hanging around for a few days. Always stick with Max."
I glanced at them briefly. Max laughed, her hand brushing his shoulder without her noticing. "Wow," I muttered. "He's so Max's type."
Juno grinned. "I know, right? And he's gorgeous. They're like a match made in heaven."
I shrugged. "Or," I paused, "a match made in hell. We'll see."
Juno chuckled at that.
A moment later, Max and Luke walked over to us. Max looked way too excited. "Jun! Val! This is the guy who's been dying to meet you."
She turned to me with a big smile. "Val, this is Luke."
Luke reached out his hand. "Oh, you're the Viper?"
I shook his hand slowly. "Yeah, that's what they call me."
He looked at me for a long second, not just observing, but analyzing. His gaze was smooth, but there was something too precise about it.
I know the difference between curiosity and intent.
Luke's wasn't the first.
"Sorry," he said finally. "I didn't quite catch your name. Val…short for something…?"
Before I could answer, Max piped up, "Nope, just to keep it simple. Her full name's Valerie."
Luke looked at me again, repeating it slowly like testing it on his tongue. "Valerie…"
Then came the faintest smile, barely there, but somehow cold.
I returned the smile, though a small warning had already gone off in my head.
Something about the way he looked at me didn't sit right.
I didn't know what it was yet, but a boxer's instinct is sharp as a blade.
And this man wasn't just a newcomer.