Catarina's POV
The door clicked open and he stepped inside, broad shoulders filling the frame in a dark suit. His face stayed hidden in shadow as he closed the door with a quiet click, the lock turning loudly in the silence.
I sat on the edge of the bed, back straight, hands folded tightly in my lap. I had been waiting twenty minutes.
"You are late," I said, keeping my voice steady.
"You are early." His voice came low and commanding.
He walked toward me with footsteps that made no sound on the carpet and stopped a foot away, but I did not stand.
"Report," he said.
I looked up at his shadowed face. "Valentina is changing. She is colder now, and harder to provoke."
"Explain,” he tilted his head.
"I've had my men watching her. She no longer reacts the way she used to, she barely sp
