The line connected, and Maximilian set the phone on speaker with unhurried ease.
Just like that, the air shifted, yet the earlier tension didn't vanish. It lingered, coiling beneath the surface, threaded now with something sharper, something almost playful in its danger.
"Cathy?" Jonathan's voice came through, but there was no warmth in it—only a clipped edge, impatience bleeding through the syllables.
Catherine's brows drew together slightly. That tone… she did not take kindly to it.
But before she could respond, Maximilian spoke, his voice calm, measured. "Who is this?"
A brief silence followed, as though the question itself had unsettled the other end.
Then, Jonatha spoke. "I'm her boss. From Helios Biotek."
Maximilian's gaze flicked to Catherine for the briefest moment before returning to the phone. "Didn't she quit?" he asked, almost conversationally. "Why are you calling her now?"
Silence again.
Longer this time.
"Who are you?" Jonathan demanded at last.
