Adeline POV
Nicole sat stiffly in the café chair, her hands pressed flat against her skirt as if that alone could steady her nerves. Mathias remained standing at my right, his presence quiet but firm. Vincent had just walked out after giving a sharp warning to Nicole, and the door had closed behind him, leaving the three of us suspended in a thick silence.
Nicole kept her eyes on the table. She looked ready to bolt the moment either of us shifted.
Mathias leaned toward me slightly. His voice dropped to a whisper only I could hear. “She is lying. She is hiding entire segments of yesterday. I can sense the gaps.”
I kept my gaze fixed on Nicole. “I expected that.”
“That is not the important part,” Mathias murmured. “I can pull the truth from her. Every memory. Every intention. Even the
