Evelyn didn't answer the message immediately.
She stood by the window for a moment, phone in her hand, watching the quiet movement of the estate below. A security guard passed the gate. A car rolled in and parked somewhere out of sight. Everything looked normal, and that almost irritated her.
The apartment had gone quiet.
Not the comfortable kind that came with conversation fading into laughter, but the stillness that settled after doors closed and lights were turned off.
Everyone was asleep.
Her phone was still in her in her hand.
She looked down at the screen again.
Adrian:Can we talk for a second. I'm outside your building.
Evelyn exhaled slowly.
She didn't respond right away. Instead, she walked toward the hallway, paused, and glanced once at the closed doors. No reason to wake them. No explanation she was ready to give.
She slipped on her shoes quietly, grabbed her jacket, and unlocked the door with deliberate care. The latch clicked softly behind her as she stepped out into the corridor.
By the time she reached the elevator, her expression had settled into something calm and unreadable.
Whatever this was—
She would face it alone.
Adrian's car was parked just outside the gate, engine off, lights dim. He wasn't leaning against it or pretending to check his phone. He stood straight, hands in his coat pockets, as if this were a business meeting scheduled weeks in advance.
Evelyn stopped a few steps away.
"You said five minutes," she said.
"I know."
He didn't step closer. He didn't smile. He didn't comment on how late it was or how different she looked.
That alone told her this conversation wouldn't be easy.
"So," she said, folding her arms, "talk."
Adrian glanced toward the building, then back at her. "I won't keep you long."
"You already said that on the phone," she replied. "You still kept me thinking."
A corner of his mouth twitched. It vanished just as quickly.
"I heard about Halcyon," he said.
Her shoulders stiffened. "Of course you did."
"They're moving faster than expected."
"That's not my problem."
"It will be."
She tilted her head slightly. "Is this where you tell me I should have listened to you?"
"No," he said. "This is where I tell you they're testing you sooner than they test most."
She laughed quietly. "I know."
That seemed to surprise him.
"You don't sound worried," he said.
"I am," Evelyn replied. "I just don't show it to people who might use it."
His gaze sharpened. "You think I would?"
"I think you're Cross," she said evenly. "And Cross doesn't do anything without a reason."
He didn't deny it.
"Halcyon isn't interested in development," Adrian continued. "They're interested in impact. If you stumble, they won't wait for you to recover."
"And if I don't?" she asked.
"Then you become leverage."
She took a slow breath. "You didn't come here just to scare me."
"No."
"Then say what you came to say."
Adrian hesitated. Just briefly. Enough for her to notice.
"There are people," he said carefully, "who would prefer you fail quietly."
Her eyes narrowed. "At Milan."
"And outside it."
She stepped closer this time. Not invading his space — claiming her own.
"You're warning me," she said. "Or threatening me."
"I'm informing you."
"Same thing," she shot back. "Different delivery."
He studied her face, as if recalibrating.
"You've changed," he said.
"I had to," she replied. "You of all people should understand that."
Silence stretched between them, thick but not hostile.
"I'm not asking you to leave Milan," Adrian said finally.
That made her pause.
"I'm asking you to be careful," he added. "And to stop assuming you're alone."
Her laugh this time was sharper. "I am alone."
"No," he said. "You're just unprotected."
She folded her arms again. "You keep saying that like protection is something I should want."
"It's something you'll need."
"From you?"
He didn't answer.
"That's what I thought," Evelyn said. "You don't protect people for free."
His jaw tightened. "You think I benefit from this?"
"I think," she said slowly, "that you don't like losing control of a narrative."
For the first time, irritation flashed openly across his face.
"This isn't about control."
"Then what is it about, Adrian?" she asked. "Because you don't show up outside my building at night out of concern."
He exhaled through his nose. "You don't make this easy."
"I didn't ask you to come."
Fair.
They stood there, neither willing to step back.
"I won't interfere," Adrian said at last. "Not publicly. Not directly."
"But?"
"But if you get pulled into something you didn't start," he continued, "I expect you to tell me."
Her eyes hardened. "Why?"
"Because I don't like surprises," he said. "And neither do the people watching you."
She absorbed that.
"And what do you get?" she asked.
He met her gaze squarely. "Clarity."
She shook her head. "You still think this is a negotiation."
"No," he said. "I think it's a line."
"Then hear this," Evelyn replied, voice low but steady. "I crossed enough lines in that house to last a lifetime. I'm not stepping back now. Not for Milan. Not for Halcyon. And definitely not for Cross."
He watched her for a long moment.
"Understood," he said.
She turned away before he could say anything else.
"Goodnight, Adrian."
He didn't stop her.
As she walked back toward the building, he remained where he was, watching until the door closed behind her.
Only then did he get back into his car.
The engine started.
Across the city, pieces were already moving.
And neither of them was stepping aside.