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Chapter Seven: Three Knocks

The first knock had sounded almost polite.

The second had made the hairs on the back of Rex's neck stand up.

The third was the reason she wasn't breathing.

Three slow knocks.

Someone was standing outside her apartment.

Kane moved before she could.

He stepped between Rex and the door, one hand raised slightly as if to tell her to stay back. His expression had changed. The man who had teased her about her yellow umbrella and laughed at her ridiculous jokes had disappeared.

In his place stood someone else.

Someone who looked as though he had spent his entire life preparing for moments exactly like this.

"Stay behind me," he whispered.

Rex stared at his back.

"That is an incredibly annoying thing to say to someone who pays half a million dollars a year in rent and owns a perfectly functional brain."

"Rex."

There was something in his voice that silenced her.

Not anger.

Fear.

And somehow, that frightened her more.

Kane approached the door without making a sound. He glanced through the peephole, then stepped away.

"Do you know who it is?" Rex whispered.

"No."

"That's reassuring."

He took his phone from his pocket and typed something quickly.

A second later, his phone vibrated.

Luca.

Kane answered without taking his eyes off the door.

"Someone's outside her apartment."

"Who?"

"I don't know. Check the cameras. Now."

Rex folded her arms. "Can someone explain why we're whispering in my own apartment?"

Kane held up a finger.

Then came another knock.

This time, it was louder.

"Building security," a man's voice called from the other side. "We received a report about a disturbance."

Rex looked at Kane.

He didn't move.

"Building security?" she mouthed.

Kane shook his head.

Her stomach tightened.

The voice came again.

"Miss Thompson? We need you to open the door."

Rex's blood ran cold.

They knew her name.

Kane moved closer to her, lowering his voice.

"Do not open it."

"I wasn't planning on inviting him in for tea."

"Rex, I'm serious."

"So am I."

She reached for her phone and opened the building's resident portal. If someone had genuinely contacted security, there should be a record of the incident.

Nothing.

No notification. No alert. No service request.

She checked the building's official emergency number.

The phone number displayed on the screen was different from the one in the message she had received earlier that week.

Her eyes narrowed.

"They're not security."

Kane looked at her.

"How do you know?"

"Because actual security has a procedure. They don't show up unannounced and ask residents to open their doors without first identifying themselves through the building system."

The handle moved.

Once.

Twice.

Rex stopped breathing.

Kane's expression hardened.

"Get away from the door."

This time, she listened.

He moved to the side, keeping himself out of the direct line of the doorway. His phone was already in his hand.

"Thirty seconds," he said quietly.

"Until what?"

"Until Luca gets here."

Rex looked at him sharply.

"Thirty seconds? What exactly is Luca going to do?"

"Make sure we're not alone."

The door handle stopped moving.

Silence.

Then footsteps.

Slowly retreating.

Kane waited.

Five seconds.

Ten.

He didn't relax.

Rex watched him, her thoughts racing.

"Are they gone?"

"I don't know."

"You're very comforting, you know that?"

He finally looked at her.

"Would you rather I lie?"

She didn't answer.

Because no.

She wouldn't.

Not anymore.

The footsteps had barely disappeared when Kane's phone vibrated.

He read the message.

His jaw tightened.

"What?"

"Luca is on his way."

"Great. Should I put on a kettle?"

"Rex."

"Sorry. Nervous habit."

He studied her for a moment.

She hated that he could see it.

The trembling fingers. The way she kept looking at the door. The way her jokes were becoming increasingly desperate.

"Come sit down," he said.

"I'm fine."

"You're shaking."

"It's cold."

"It's November."

"Excellent observation."

He didn't argue.

Instead, he took off his dark coat and placed it over the back of her sofa.

The gesture was unexpectedly ordinary.

That was what unsettled her.

A man who had just warned her that someone was inside the building was standing in her living room, placing his coat neatly over her furniture.

As if this were a normal evening.

As if they were normal neighbours.

Rex sat on the edge of the sofa.

Kane remained standing.

"Tell me something," she said.

He looked at her.

"Are you always like this?"

"Like what?"

"Prepared for someone to break into a building and threaten a woman over an investigation involving your dead father."

His expression shifted.

A flicker of something painful crossed his face.

"No."

"Then why does it look so familiar to you?"

He didn't answer immediately.

"Because I've spent most of my life knowing what people are capable of."

Rex looked down at her hands.

She understood that more than she wanted to.

Not the mafia. Not the violence. Not the money or the men who apparently pretended to be building security.

But the feeling of learning to anticipate someone's mood.

The instinct to read a room before speaking.

The exhausting habit of preparing for a reaction before expressing a thought.

She had learned those things in a different kind of house.

A different kind of danger.

"Who killed your father?" she asked.

Kane's face became unreadable.

"I don't know."

"But you suspect someone."

"Yes."

"Someone close to him?"

He looked at her.

"Why would you ask that?"

"Because whoever is doing this knows things about you. They know where I live. They know how to access the building's systems. They knew enough to impersonate security."

She paused.

"And they know what to say to get under your skin."

Kane watched her carefully.

"You're right."

The admission surprised her.

"Well. I do occasionally have moments of brilliance."

His mouth almost curved.

Almost.

Then his phone rang.

Luca.

Kane answered.

"Tell me."

Rex couldn't hear the other side, but she watched Kane's expression change.

"Where?"

A pause.

"Send it to me."

Another pause.

"No. Don't touch anything."

He ended the call.

"What happened?" Rex asked.

"Someone entered the building through the underground parking garage approximately twelve minutes ago."

"Can you identify them?"

"Not yet."

"Why not?"

"The camera covering the entrance went offline."

Rex stared at him.

"Of course it did."

Kane slipped his phone into his pocket.

"Luca found something else."

"What?"

"The person who accessed the security system used an administrator credential that was deactivated months ago."

Rex felt her stomach turn.

The same kind of legacy access she had found in the archived authentication records.

A retired service.

A credential that should no longer work.

"That's not a coincidence," she whispered.

"No."

"Someone is using old access points."

"Possibly."

"Which means whoever is doing this has knowledge of the system."

Kane's eyes remained on her.

"Rex, I need you to listen to me."

She sighed.

"Here we go."

"Your name appeared in the archived records. Someone has been watching your apartment. Now they're using credentials connected to an older system. I don't know whether they're targeting you because of your work or because of me."

"Then find out."

"I intend to."

"Good. So do I."

His expression darkened.

"You are not getting involved."

Rex stood.

"Excuse me?"

"I don't want you investigating this."

"You don't get to decide that."

"I am trying to keep you safe."

"And I'm trying to understand why someone is threatening me because of a system I helped build. I'm not going to sit on my sofa and wait for you to tell me what happens next."

Kane took a step closer.

"This isn't a game."

"I know that."

"Then stop treating it like one."

The words landed harder than he intended.

Rex's expression changed.

For a moment, the apartment became painfully quiet.

"I'm not treating it like a game," she said.

Her voice was softer now.

And that was worse.

Kane seemed to realize it.

"Rex—"

"No. You don't get to stand in my apartment, tell me someone is trying to hurt me, and then expect me to be grateful when you decide what I can and cannot do."

"I'm not asking you to be grateful."

"Then what are you asking?"

He didn't answer.

She looked at him, searching his face.

"You want me to trust you. But you won't tell me anything until you've already decided what I should know."

His jaw tightened.

"I haven't had time to explain everything."

"Then start."

Before he could respond, someone knocked again.

This time, the sound was followed by a familiar voice.

"Open up. It's Luca."

Kane moved toward the door.

Rex stayed where she was.

She had a feeling the night was far from over.

Luca entered carrying a black laptop bag.

He was dressed in a charcoal coat, his dark hair slightly damp from the rain. His eyes moved immediately from Kane to Rex.

"Everyone alive?"

"Unfortunately," Rex muttered.

Luca gave her a brief smile.

"Good. You must be Rex."

"Depends who's asking."

"Luca."

"Ah. The mysterious friend."

He glanced at Kane.

"She knows?"

"Enough."

Luca nodded, then placed the bag on the dining table.

"I pulled what I could from the building's security system. Whoever accessed the administrator account knew exactly what they were doing. They didn't force their way in. They used valid credentials."

Rex approached the table.

"Which account?"

Luca looked at Kane.

Kane gave a slight nod.

"Administrator account registered under Vescari Holdings."

Rex frowned.

"Your father's company?"

"Yes," Kane answered.

"Why would your father's company have access to a residential building's security system?"

Luca hesitated.

Kane's expression sharpened.

"Explain."

"Your father invested in the building when it was developed. Vescari Holdings had a security services contract with the original management company."

Rex looked between them.

"That's convenient."

"Not anymore," Luca said.

He opened the laptop and turned it toward them.

A series of access logs appeared on the screen.

Rex leaned closer.

The administrator credential had been used twice.

The first access occurred three days earlier.

The second had happened tonight.

She studied the timestamps.

"Can you show me the original authentication record?"

Luca clicked through several folders.

Rex recognized the format immediately.

Her stomach tightened.

It was the same legacy authentication structure she had encountered at work.

She didn't touch the keyboard.

Instead, she pointed to a field.

"That token format was retired. It shouldn't be accepted by a modern authentication service."

"Can it be exploited?" Luca asked.

"Anything can be exploited. But I can't tell you how without examining the system architecture and verifying the records."

Kane watched her.

"Does this connect to your work?"

"I don't know yet."

She leaned closer.

There was something strange about the credential identifier.

Not the account itself.

The way it had been generated.

She recognized the naming convention from a system that had been replaced years ago.

"Someone kept an old key alive," she said.

Kane looked at Luca.

"Can you trace it?"

"I can try."

"No," Rex interrupted.

Both men turned toward her.

She pointed to the screen.

"Don't change anything yet. If this is an active system, touching the wrong record could overwrite the information we need. Preserve the logs first. Get a forensic copy. Then investigate."

Luca looked mildly impressed.

Kane looked something else.

Proud, perhaps.

And worried.

Rex didn't know which expression she disliked more.

By the time Luca left, it was nearly two in the morning.

He promised to have someone watch the building entrance and would send Kane any updates.

Rex stood by her kitchen counter, staring at the untouched glass of water Kane had poured for her.

He was at the door.

"Lock it behind me."

She looked up.

"Are you going to sleep?"

"Eventually."

"That's not an answer."

"It's the one I have."

She walked toward him.

For a second, neither spoke.

The hallway light cast a warm line across his face. His dark shirt was slightly creased, and there was a faint shadow beneath his eyes.

He looked exhausted.

Not physically.

Something deeper.

"Kane?"

He met her gaze.

"Thank you."

His eyebrows drew together.

"For what?"

"For not lying to me tonight."

He studied her for a long moment.

"I haven't told you everything."

"I know."

"And there are things you won't like."

"Probably."

His eyes dropped briefly to her mouth before returning to her eyes.

The movement was so quick she almost convinced herself she imagined it.

Almost.

"You're difficult," he murmured.

"You're secretive."

"You're stubborn."

"You're emotionally constipated."

A quiet laugh escaped him.

There it was again.

That rare, unguarded sound.

Rex smiled despite herself.

Then the smile faded.

"Someone knows where I live, Kane."

"I know."

"Someone knows your father's name."

"I know."

"And someone is using a system that connects both of us."

His expression grew serious.

"Yes."

She swallowed.

"Don't make promises you can't keep."

He stepped closer.

Not enough to touch her.

Enough for her to notice the warmth of him.

"I won't."

For a moment, Rex wondered what it would feel like if he did touch her.

If his hand rested against her cheek.

If he leaned down and kissed her.

The thought arrived uninvited, inconvenient, and entirely unwelcome.

Or perhaps not entirely unwelcome.

Kane's gaze lingered on her face.

"Goodnight, Rex."

"Goodnight, neighbour."

He stepped into the hallway.

She closed the door and locked it.

Then she rested her forehead against the wood, listening to his footsteps disappear into the apartment next door.

Her phone vibrated.

An email notification.

Unknown sender.

No subject line.

Rex frowned and opened it.

There was no photograph this time.

Just a single sentence.

YOU SHOULD HAVE LET THE DEAD STAY DEAD.

Her fingers went cold.

A second message appeared.

ASK KANE WHAT HIS FATHER WAS TRYING TO TELL HIM THE NIGHT HE DIED.

Rex stared at the screen.

Then she looked toward the shared wall.

For the first time since meeting him, she wasn't wondering who Kane Vale really was.

She was wondering what he had done.

And what his father had died trying to protect.

Outside, somewhere below, a car engine started.

A moment later, Kane's apartment door opened.

Rex heard him leave.

And she knew, with a certainty that made her stomach twist, that he had received a message of his own.

Because whatever had begun between apartment 19B and 19C was no longer just a dangerous coincidence.

Someone had decided they were both part of the same story.

And someone was determined to make sure neither of them reached the ending.