“Say it again.”
Adrian’s voice cut through the silence, low but edged with something sharper than anger. Not loud. Not explosive. Controlled. That made it worse. I didn’t repeat the name. I didn’t need to. The way his hand slipped from mine said he heard it clearly the first time.
The distance between us wasn’t physical. Not yet. But it pressed heavier than anything in the room. The fourth figure watched us, quiet now, like they had already set something irreversible in motion.
“You knew,” Adrian said. Not a question.
I turned slightly toward him. “Not like this.” A pause.
His jaw tightened. His gaze didn’t soften. “But you knew enough to hesitate.” The words landed carefully and precisely, like he was choosing them to avoid something worse underneath.
I inhaled slowly. “I knew the n
