Chapter 5: The Truth Buried Under Paper
I read the sentence three times.
Then a fourth.
Because my brain refused to accept what my eyes were seeing.
*Subject was instructed to make contact with Kit Nolan before the accident.*
The words sat on the page like they belonged to someone else’s life.
Someone else’s nightmare.
Not mine.
Not Kit’s.
I looked at the name underneath.
My fingers tightened around the paper.
“No.””
It came out quietly.
Nobody moved.
“No.””
This time louder.
I looked up.
The room blurred for a second.
“Who is the subject?””
Nobody answered.
That was when I knew.
Because if the answer was harmless, someone would have said it.
If the answer was a misunderstanding, someone would have explained.
Silence was the language of guilty people.
I looked at Milo.
“Who?””
His face remained still.
But his eyes changed.
I had spent months working around powerful men.
I had learned how to read small things.
A hand tightening around a glass.
A smile disappearing too quickly.
A person avoiding eye contact.
Milo Varenne was afraid of my reaction.
Not because I might hurt him.
Because I might hate him.
“Tell me,” I said.
Milo glanced at Damian.
Damian looked almost pleased.
Like he had been waiting for this exact moment.
“Go ahead,” Damian said.
“She deserves the truth.””
Milo’s voice was cold.
“You don’t get to decide what she deserves.””
Damian smiled.
“I already did.””
I turned the page.
There was a photograph attached.
A man standing beside a motorcycle.
The image was grainy.
Taken from a distance.
But I recognized him.
My breath stopped.
Because I knew that face.
I had seen it before.
Not in person.
In my memories.
Kit’s hospital room.
The first night after the accident.
A man had appeared in the hallway.
He had asked if we needed anything.
He had told me everything would be okay.
I remembered thinking he looked too calm for a stranger.
Too interested.
I had forgotten him.
Until now.
I looked at Rurik.
“You knew.””
He looked down.
That hurt more than I expected.
“You knew?””
Rurik closed his eyes.
“Sabra…”
“No.””
My voice shook.
“No. Don’t say my name like that.””
The fighter looked like he wanted to explain.
Like he had been carrying this moment for a long time.
“I didn’t know everything.””
“But you knew something.””
A pause.
“Yes.””
The honesty cut deeper.
I stepped away.
My chest felt tight.
Every person in this room had known something about the worst moment of my life.
And I had been serving them drinks.
Laughing politely.
Pretending I belonged there.
While they watched me struggle.
I looked at Milo.
“How long?””
He didn’t answer.
“How long did you know?””
“Since before you started working here.””
The words landed like a physical blow.
I laughed once.
It sounded broken.
“You hired me.””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
Milo looked at the folder.
Then at me.
“Because I needed to know why someone connected to that accident was walking into my building every night.””
My anger flared.
“Someone connected?””
“Yes.””
“Who?””
Nobody spoke.
Then Damian answered.
“I was hoping you’d ask.””
Milo turned sharply.
“Enough.””
Damian ignored him.
“The accident that destroyed your brother’s life was not random.””
I felt my stomach turn.
“No.””
“It was a message.””
“No.””
“From someone trying to pressure Milo.””
I looked at Milo.
“What does that mean?””
He didn’t answer.
I stepped toward him.
“What does that mean?””
Milo’s jaw tightened.
“Years ago, I made a decision.””
Damian laughed softly.
“An expensive one.””
Milo ignored him.
“I walked away from a business arrangement.””
I stared.
“What kind of arrangement?””
“The kind where people don’t accept losing.””
Damian’s smile disappeared.
The room became colder.
Milo continued.
“Damian believed I owed him.””
“And you didn’t?””
“No.””
Damian interrupted.
“He always says that.””
His voice was calm.
“But people like Milo forget something.””
He walked toward the table.
“Debt isn’t always money.””
I looked at him.
“What did he owe you?””
Damian smiled.
“Everything.””
Milo’s expression hardened.
“Don’t listen to him.””
“Why?””
“Because he turns every story into something that benefits him.””
Damian laughed.
“And you don’t?””
That silence was worse than an argument.
Because I realized something.
Both men were dangerous.
Just in different ways.
I looked down at the folder again.
There were more documents.
Financial records.
Names.
Dates.
A pattern.
Kit’s accident had opened a door into a world I never knew existed.
A world where people’s lives were pieces on a board.
I closed the folder.
“I want to know who did this.””
Milo looked at me.
“No.””
I stared.
“No?””
“You need to stay away from this.””
I almost couldn’t believe him.
“You don’t get to say that.””
“Sabra.””
“No.””
I stepped closer.
“You don’t get to investigate my brother’s accident, hide information from me, and then decide I’m too fragile to know the truth.””
“I’m trying to keep you alive.””
“And I’m trying to understand why everyone keeps deciding things for me.””
The words hit him.
I saw it.
A small reaction.
Because maybe that was something he understood.
Maybe his entire life had been people deciding things for him too.
Damian watched us.
And I hated that he seemed entertained.
“You see?”” he said.
Milo looked at him.
“Stop.””
“She’s exactly like you.””
“No.””
“Yes.””
Damian looked at me.
“She doesn’t trust anyone who claims to protect her.””
I said nothing.
Because he was right.
And I hated him for noticing.
Suddenly, Victor rushed back into the room.
His face was pale.
“Mr. Varenne.””
Milo turned.
“What?””
Victor held out a phone.
“It’s about Kit Nolan.””
My heart stopped.
I moved instantly.
“What happened?””
Victor looked at Milo first.
That made fear spread through me.
“Tell me.””
Milo took the phone.
A few seconds passed.
Then he handed it to me.
There was a video.
I pressed play.
The screen showed Kit.
Sitting in his apartment.
Alive.
Moving.
Talking.
Relief hit me for half a second.
Then I noticed something.
The camera angle.
The quality.
Someone else had recorded it.
Kit looked directly into the camera.
His face was tense.
“Sabra.””
My blood ran cold.
Because he was talking to me.
“If you’re seeing this…”
He looked away.
Like he was scared someone was nearby.
“Don’t trust anyone from Halcyon.””
My breath caught.
The video continued.
“Especially Milo Varenne.””
I looked up.
Milo’s face changed.
Not anger.
Shock.
Kit continued.
“I know you think he’s helping you.””
A pause.
“He’s not the person you should be afraid of.””
The screen flickered.
Then Kit whispered:
“Sabra, I found out what really happened the night of the accident.””
Everyone in the room froze.
Then the video ended.
A second later, a new message appeared on my phone.
Unknown number.
One sentence.
*Ask Milo what he did the night your brother crashed.*
I slowly lifted my eyes.
Milo was staring at the phone.
May you like
And for the first time since I met him…
He looked guilty.
