"You're distracted."
Wilson's voice cut cleanly through the space between them, low and precise, and Delphine's fingers stilled over the document as she lifted her eyes to him. "I'm working," she replied, but the delay in her response betrayed her, and she saw it immediately in the way his gaze sharpened. He didn't look convinced. He never did when something was off. "You've read the same line three times," he added calmly. "That's not the focus. That's avoidance. So tell me... what exactly are you trying not to think about?"
Delphine exhaled slowly, forcing herself to sit straighter under the weight of his attention. "Nothing," she said, quieter this time, but he stepped closer before she could retreat behind the answer. "Don't do that," he murmured, his voice dropping just enough to make it feel personal. "Don't give me answers you don't even believe."
Her pulse shifted, uneven now, and she held his gaze a second longer than she should have. "And if I don't want to talk about it?" she asked. His expression didn't change, but something in his eyes did. "Then I decide whether that's acceptable," he said simply.
Her breath caught, not at the words themselves, but at how easily he said them. "You don't get to decide that," she replied, more firmly now, but he didn't move away. If anything, the distance between them felt smaller. "No?" he asked, almost quietly. "Then explain why your hands are tense, your focus is gone, and you've been watching my office door all morning like you're waiting for something to happen." Delphine's chest tightened. "Maybe I am," she said before she could stop herself. That made him pause. Just for a second. "Then tell me what you're expecting," he said.
She hesitated, then shook her head. "It's nothing concrete," she admitted, her voice lowering. "Just... a feeling." Wilson studied her closely, the silence stretching just enough to make her aware of every second. "You don't strike me as someone who reacts to 'feelings' without reason," he said. "So either something happened... or someone made you think something would." Her fingers tightened slightly on the edge of the file. "Why does it matter to you?" she asked. The question landed heavier than she expected.
Wilson didn't answer immediately. Instead, he reached forward, sliding the file out of her hands and closing it with deliberate calm. "Because," he said, finally meeting her eyes again, "if something is affecting your judgment, then it affects your work. And right now, your work is under my responsibility." Delphine's jaw tightened slightly. "That sounds professional," she said. "It is," he replied. Then, after a brief pause, his voice dropped just enough to shift the meaning. "But not entirely."
The air changed.
Delphine felt it before she understood it, that subtle shift where the conversation stopped being strictly about work. "Then what else is it?" she asked, quieter now. Wilson held her gaze, unreadable for a moment. "That," he said slowly, "is something we are not discussing in the middle of an open office." Her pulse skipped. "So we're not discussing it at all?" She challenged me. A faint trace of something almost like amusement touched his expression. "We are," he said. "Just not here."
She blinked. "What does that mean?"
"It means," he continued calmly, straightening slightly, "you're coming to lunch with me."
Delphine stared at him. "Lunch?" she repeated, unsure if she had heard correctly. "You heard me," he said. "We'll discuss the Carson contract... and whatever it is you're not saying." She let out a short breath. "You don't usually invite people to lunch," she said carefully. "I don't," he agreed without hesitation. That didn't help. "Then why me?" she asked.
Wilson stepped back slightly, but his eyes didn't leave hers. "Because you're already involved in something you don't understand yet," he said. "And I'd rather you didn't figure it out the wrong way." Her heart thudded, harder now. "That's not an answer," she said. "It's the only one you're getting for now," he replied.
Silence settled between them again, but it wasn't empty this time. It was loaded.
Delphine looked at him for a long moment, then asked quietly, "And if I refuse?" Wilson didn't hesitate. "You won't," he said. Her brows drew slightly. "You sound very certain." He nodded once. "I am." She held his gaze, testing that certainty. "You don't know me well enough to decide that," she said. This time, his expression shifted slightly, something deeper, more knowing. "No," he said softly. "But I know what pressure looks like. And I know when someone is about to be pushed into a situation they didn't choose."
Her breath slowed.
"And you think that's me?" she asked.
"I don't think," he replied. "I'm sure."
That landed harder than anything else he had said.
Before she could respond, he added, "Fifteen minutes. Be ready." Then he turned and walked away, leaving her with the weight of everything he had just implied.
Delphine didn't move immediately.
Her mind was already racing, replaying his words, searching for meaning he hadn't fully given. "You're already involved." The sentence wouldn't leave her. It sat there, heavy, unfinished, dangerous.
And just as she reached for her phone, it vibrated. She froze. Slowly... she looked down.
A message appeared. No number, no name, just one line:
"You shouldn't go with him."
Delphine's breath stopped and across the office, Wilson's door slowly opened.
And he was already looking at her.
Delphine did not move immediately after reading the message, but when she finally lifted her eyes, Wilson was already watching her with a focus that made it impossible to pretend nothing had changed. "You saw something," he said quietly, stepping closer to her desk without breaking eye contact, and Delphine exhaled slowly before answering. "Another message," she admitted, her voice steady but lower than before. "And this one is very clear." His gaze darkened slightly. "Show me." She hesitated for a fraction of a second, then turned the screen toward him. He read it once, his expression unreadable, then looked back at her. "And you're still going to come with me," he said, not as a question.
Delphine frowned slightly, her fingers tightening around her phone. "That doesn't concern you?" she asked, searching his face for any sign of uncertainty, but he remained composed. "It does," he replied calmly. "But not in the way you think." She shook her head, frustration rising now.
"Someone is clearly watching me, warning me, and you're acting like it's just another detail to manage." His voice dropped slightly. "Because panic won't help you," he said. "And because whoever sent that message wants you to hesitate." Delphine held his gaze. "And what if they're right?" she asked. That made him pause, just long enough to shift the tension.
"What exactly are you suggesting?" he asked quietly. Delphine swallowed once, then said, "That maybe I shouldn't trust you." The words landed heavier than she expected, but she didn't take them back. Wilson studied her for a long second, then stepped closer, lowering his voice so only she could hear. "If I were the one you should be afraid of," he said slowly, "you wouldn't be receiving warnings. You would already be in trouble." Her pulse jumped, not from fear alone, but from the certainty in his tone. "That's not reassuring," she murmured. "It's not meant to be," he replied.
She exhaled, then slipped her phone back into her pocket. "You still haven't explained anything," she said. "And yet you expect me to follow you to lunch like everything is normal." His expression didn't soften. "Nothing about this is normal," he said. "That's exactly why you're coming with me." She tilted her head slightly. "You're very good at giving orders," she said. "I don't follow orders blindly." A faint shift crossed his face, something sharper this time. "Good," he said. "Then don't follow. Make a decision." Delphine held his gaze. "I am," she replied. "I just haven't decided yet."
Wilson nodded once, as if accepting that answer, but his next words came quieter, more deliberate. "Then let me make one thing clear," he said. "If you stay here, you're exposed. If you leave alone, you're vulnerable. But if you come with me, at least I know where you are." That made her still. "You say that like you're responsible for me," she said. His eyes didn't waver. "Right now," he replied, "I am." The simplicity of that answer unsettled her more than anything else.
They walked out of the office together minutes later, but the silence between them was not empty. It was tight, controlled, filled with everything they were not saying. As they stepped into the elevator, Delphine finally spoke. "You've done this before," she said. "Haven't you?" Wilson glanced at her briefly. "Done what?" She met his eyes directly. "Handled something like this. Someone being watched. Threatened." The elevator doors slid shut, sealing them inside. "Yes," he said after a pause. "And it didn't end well." Her stomach tightened. "For who?" she asked. He didn't answer immediately.
"For the person who didn't listen," he said at last.
The restaurant was quiet, but Delphine barely noticed the setting this time. As soon as they sat down, she leaned slightly forward, her voice low but firm. "Start explaining," she said. Wilson rested his hands lightly on the table, studying her with that same measured intensity. "You're being pulled into something connected to a past case," he said. "One that should have stayed buried." Her brows drew together. "And this involves me how?" He didn't look away. "That's what I'm trying to confirm." She let out a short breath. "So I'm just... a possibility to you?" she asked. "Not just that," he said. "You're also a risk."
That stung more than she expected. "A risk," she repeated. "That's how you see me?" His voice remained calm. "That's how the situation sees you," he corrected. "I'm just being honest." Delphine leaned back slightly, studying him now. "You keep saying things like that," she said. "Like you're protecting me, but also keeping me at a distance." A faint tension appeared in his jaw. "Because getting too close to this," he said, "has consequences." Her eyes narrowed slightly. "For me?" she asked. He held her gaze. "For both of us."
The words lingered between them, heavier than anything before.
Delphine was about to respond when her phone vibrated again on the table between them. This time, both of them looked down at the same moment. A new message appeared.
"Public places won't save you."
Her breath caught. Wilson's expression changed, not dramatically, but enough for her to see it. Recognition. Calculation. Something darker. "They're close," he said quietly. Delphine's pulse spiked. "You're saying they're here?" she asked. His eyes moved subtly, scanning the room without turning his head. "I'm saying they know exactly where you are," he replied.
Her fingers trembled slightly as she picked up her phone. "This isn't just about me," she said, her voice barely steady. "This is connected to you." Wilson didn't deny it. "Yes," he said.
That single word settled between them with a weight Delphine could not ignore, and she leaned forward slightly, her voice tightening as she said, "Then stop holding back and tell me everything, because I'm already in this whether I like it or not." Wilson held her gaze for a moment, as if measuring how much she was ready to hear, but before he could respond, her phone vibrated sharply against the table, cutting through the tension like a blade. She glanced down, her breath catching as the screen lit up again, and this time her expression changed completely. "No... this isn't just a message," she murmured, her fingers hesitating before she opened it.
Wilson's eyes narrowed. "What is it?" he asked quietly, but she didn't answer immediately. Instead, she turned the phone slightly toward herself, her pulse rising as the image loaded, and the moment she saw it, the color drained from her face. "Delphine," he pressed, his tone sharper now, "what did they send you?" She swallowed hard, then slowly turned the screen toward him without speaking. For a second, neither of them moved. Then Wilson's entire posture shifted.
The photo had been taken from behind.
Inside the restaurant.
Close enough to capture every detail.
Her. Him. The table. The exact angle they were sitting at.
Delphine's fingers tightened around the phone as her voice dropped into a whisper. "They're here," she said, the words barely leaving her lips. Wilson didn't respond immediately, but his eyes darkened in a way she hadn't seen before, not controlled, not distant, but alert in a way that sent a sharp chill through her chest. "Stay still," he said quietly, his gaze flicking past her for the briefest second before returning to her face. "And don't react."
Her heart began to pound harder. "You think I can stay calm after this?" she asked under her breath, her voice trembling despite her effort to control it. Wilson leaned forward slightly, his tone dropping even lower. "You don't have a choice," he said. "If they're close enough to take that, then they're close enough to be watching your reaction." Delphine's breath faltered, but she forced herself to hold his gaze. "Then tell me what to do," she said.
That was when he stood.
The movement was controlled, but fast enough to shift the energy around them instantly. Delphine looked up at him, confusion and fear colliding in her chest. "Wilson?" she called softly, but his expression had changed completely. The calm, measured control she had grown used to was gone, replaced by something sharper, more dangerous. "Don't turn around," he said, his voice firm now, no hesitation, no softness.
Her body tensed immediately. "Why?" she asked, barely above a whisper. Wilson didn't answer, and that silence told her everything.
Too late, because behind her, she heard it.
The faint scrape of a chair against the floor. Slow. Deliberate. Close.
Delphine's breath stopped as every instinct in her screamed to move, but she couldn't. She couldn't even bring herself to breathe properly as the sound settled right behind her, followed by the unmistakable shift of someone sitting down. Her fingers curled tightly against the edge of the table, her pulse roaring in her ears as she felt it, the presence, the closeness, the certainty that whoever had been watching them was no longer hiding.
Then a voice came. Low. Calm. And far too familiar.
"So," the stranger said quietly from behind her, "this is the one you chose." Delphine's blood ran cold and across from her, Wilson's expression turned deadly.
