Chapter forty two

Diana Mirabella Kaiser

I took a step forward, my voice sharp but level.

"Then say it. Say what you're really implying."

Xavier didn't flinch. "You want me to say it?"

"Yes."

I watched him. Closely. I wasn't going to blink first.

He exhaled slowly, his jaw flexing once.

"You're not just some random girl from that graduated Highschool," he said. "You walked into this internship like you'd already seen behind the curtain. You ask questions too carefully and you avoid answers like it's instinct."

"And what?" I snapped. "You think I'm a spy? Some kind of saboteur?"

His eyes flickered. "No. If you were, you'd be more polished. Sloppier, in some ways. Less real."

I didn't expect that.

He stepped closer. Not threatening - not exactly - but like he wanted to study my reaction.

"I think you're here for something you haven't admitted even to yourself. And I think someone's protecting you. Someone with reach."

My stomach twisted - just for a second.

Marcello.

He didn't say the name. But I heard it anyway.

"I earned this internship," I said tightly. "I built my project from scratch. I stay late, I work harder than the others and I don't owe you an explanation for how I grew up or what I've seen."

"I didn't ask for your resume," Xavier said quietly. "I'm asking what you're not telling me."

I hesitated. Just long enough for him to see it.

Then I looked him straight in the eye.

"There are things I don't know," I said quietly. "Things I'm starting to question. But if you think you have answers, Xavier, stop circling me and start talking."

He was silent.

But not still.

Xavier moved - slow and deliberate - to the far side of the room, one hand resting on the table edge. His fingers tapped once, twice, then stopped. His gaze was razor-sharp, but there was something under it now.

Not accusation.

Curiosity.

"You're the kind of person who doesn't panic when things go wrong," he said. "You calculate. Adapt. That doesn't come from school or books or some job application. That comes from living in shadows. Being around people who lie for a living. Who survive by silence."

I stared at him, heart thudding.

"You're profiling me," I said.

"No," he replied. "I'm reading you."

"And what am I supposed to say?" I snapped. "That you're right? That I grew up with more scars than birthdays? That I know how to make myself invisible? Congratulations-you're observant."

His expression didn't shift. But his voice did. Lower. Calmer. "Then why apply here?"

"Because I want something better than survival."

He tilted his head slightly. "Is that all?"

I didn't answer.

He took a step closer.

"You trust your instincts. That's good. But they're loud right now. Screaming at you. You walked in here with a mission, even if you haven't admitted it to yourself."

His eyes locked on mine.

"So I'll ask one more time, Diana Kaiser: what are you really looking for?"

I hesitated.

Just a second.

Long enough for the air to shift between us.

And then I said, voice cool and sharp:

"The truth."

He watched me. Searched me. Like he didn't expect that answer. Or maybe... feared it.

And I could tell.

He knew something I didn't.

But he wasn't ready to give it up yet.

"Be careful where you dig," he said finally. "You might not like what you find."

I stepped forward.

"And you might not like who I become if I find out someone's been lying to me."

A flicker crossed his face.

Respect.

And maybe - just maybe - concern.

He gave a small nod. "Get some sleep, Kaiser."

I turned without a word and left the room.

I didn't go home.

I didn't even step outside Obsidian Co. right away. I found a quiet hallway on one of the sublevels, where the air felt heavier, like it knew secrets too. I leaned against the wall, pulled out my phone, and opened the message thread that had haunted me for weeks.

Warnings.

Unsigned.

But I knew who it was.

Michael.

The boy from the orphanage. My best friend once. The only person who made that place feel like it wasn't a prison. He was adopted when I was eleven and I hadn't seen him since.

Until his words showed up out of nowhere, in German. I still remember his determination to lern it. For me. It was one the few connections to my mother I still had. He said that he wanted to learn it so I'll always have someone to speak it with and I won't ever forget my mother's language.

"I saw you last night. You don't know these people. You're not safe with them."

And now?

Now I needed answers more than ever.

I typed without hesitation:

We need to talk. Tonight. In person.

My thumb hovered. Then I hit send.

Seconds passed.

Then the typing bubble appeared.

And then:

Tonight. 12 a.m. Come alone. No one can know. Send your location when you're ready.

My fingers tightened around the phone.

Come alone.

My mind flashed to Marcello's face at breakfast.

To the tightness in Xavier's voice hours ago.

To Killian's knowing glances.

To all the answers I was beginning to fear were true.

I swallowed hard.

Then typed back:

I'll be there.

No turning back now.