The morning after the gala refused to feel like a new day.
I had barely slept. Every time I closed my eyes, I found myself back in that grand hall, surrounded by glittering lights and quiet conversations, with Xavier's gaze fixed on me like I was the only thing that mattered in the room. It was unsettling how clearly I remembered everything.
The way he spoke, the way he watched, the way he seemed to understand more than he should.
Even now, sitting alone in my apartment, it felt like the tension from last night had followed me home. The air felt heavier, charged in a way I could not explain.
I took a slow sip of my coffee, hoping it would ground me, and scrolled through the notes on my phone. Words, observations, fragments of conversations. They were supposed to form the foundation of my article, but my mind refused to stay focused.
Every few seconds, it drifted back to him.
Xavier Steel.
My phone buzzed suddenly, breaking through the silence.
Amelia, we need to talk. Urgent. Beth.
I stared at the message for a second, my stomach tightening. Beth did not use the word urgent lightly. Whatever this was, it was not small.
I left almost immediately.
We met at our usual café, tucked away in a quieter part of the city. It was one of the few places where the noise of everything else seemed distant, where conversations felt more private, more real.
Beth was already there when I arrived. That alone told me something was wrong. She was usually late, or at least casually on time. But now, she sat leaning over her laptop, her expression serious in a way I had not seen in a long time.
I slid into the seat across from her. "What is it?" I asked.
She did not waste time. "Something's come up," she said. "I was going through some old files. Records connected to your parents."
My body went still. "What files?"
Beth exhaled slowly, like she was choosing her words carefully. "It's not straightforward. Some of the information is incomplete, and some of it looks like it was buried on purpose.
But from what I could find…" She hesitated for a fraction of a second. "Amelia, your parents' death might not have been an accident."
The words did not register immediately.
When they did, they hit hard.
"That doesn't make sense," I said, my voice quieter than I intended. "It was investigated. It was ruled an accident."
Beth shook her head slightly. "That's what the official report says. But there are inconsistencies. Missing pieces. And it gets worse."
Something cold settled in my chest. "What do you mean, worse?"
Her gaze met mine, steady but filled with concern. "There are connections. Indirect ones, but they are there.
Names that keep appearing in different places. Business ties. Old partnerships."
I felt my fingers curl slightly against the table. "Beth, just say it."
She hesitated again, then finally spoke. "It might be connected to Xavier's family."
A short, sharp laugh escaped me before I could stop it.
"That's not possible," I said quickly. "Xavier and I barely even know each other."
"Amelia," Beth said firmly. "This is not about how well you know him. This is bigger than that."
Silence stretched between us.
My thoughts were a mess, colliding and unraveling all at once. Xavier's face flashed in my mind. His calm confidence. His unreadable expressions. That knowing look in his eyes.
Could it all be connected?
I pushed the thought away almost immediately. It felt too much, too sudden.
"You need to be careful," Beth continued, her voice softer now. "Whatever you're stepping into with your work, it might be stirring things that were meant to stay buried."
I nodded slowly, though nothing about this felt clear anymore.
The rest of the day passed in a blur.
When I returned to Metro Daily, I tried to lose myself in work. I focused on my article, on research, on anything that would keep my mind from spiraling.
It was supposed to be a straightforward piece on corporate responsibility in the tech industry. Something safe. Something manageable.
But nothing felt simple anymore.
Every line I wrote felt distracted, incomplete
My thoughts kept drifting back to Beth's words, to my parents, to the possibility that everything I thought I knew might be wrong.
And then, as if my thoughts had summoned him, I felt it before I saw him.
That familiar shift in the air.
I looked up.
Xavier stood by the office doorway, leaning casually as though he belonged there. Like he had every right to step into my world whenever he wanted.
His presence drew attention instantly, but he seemed unaffected by it. His gaze found mine without effort.
My stomach tightened.
He walked toward me, slow and deliberate, his expression calm but observant.
"Good morning, Amelia," he said, his voice low, almost too personal for a professional setting. "You look tired."
"I'm not," I replied quickly, gripping my notebook a little tighter than necessary.
His lips curved slightly, that familiar hint of amusement returning. He stepped closer, just enough for me to feel the warmth of him near me.
"You're on edge," he murmured, his voice quieter now. "Why?"
The question lingered between us.
I should have ignored it. I should have brushed it off like I always did.
But something about everything I had just learned made it harder to pretend.
"Because you're dangerous," I said softly, the words slipping out before I could stop them.
For a brief moment, something changed in his expression. His eyes darkened, his gaze sharpening in a way that made my breath catch.
He held my gaze a second longer than necessary.
Then, just like that, he stepped back, his composure returning as if nothing had happened.
The distance between us felt colder than before.
He did not say anything else.
He simply turned and walked away.
By the time evening came, my mind was exhausted from trying to make sense of everything. I packed up my things and left the office, hoping the fresh air would help clear my thoughts.
But the moment I stepped outside, something felt off.
Across the street, under the dim glow of a lamppost, someone stood watching.
My instincts kicked in immediately.
I slowed, my gaze locking onto the figure as he shifted slightly, stepping forward just enough for the light to reveal his face.
Kale.
Surprise flickered through me, quickly followed by suspicion.
He raised a hand in a casual greeting, but there was nothing casual about his expression. His eyes held something deeper. Concern. Maybe even fear.
"You shouldn't be out here alone," he said, his voice low.
I frowned slightly. "Why not?"
He glanced around briefly before looking back at me. "There are people watching. Dangerous people."
A chill ran down my spine. "Who?"
He shook his head. "Not here. It's not safe to talk here." He hesitated, then added, "Just be careful. And don't trust too easily."
His gaze shifted briefly toward the towering Steel Enterprises building across the street, its windows glowing against the darkening sky.
"Especially him," he said quietly.
My chest tightened.
I wanted to ask more, to demand answers, but something in his expression told me he would not say anything else.
Still, I did not fully trust him. I never had.
When he had been with Beth, there had always been something off about him. A lack of sincerity I could not quite explain. Beth had felt it too, even if she had not admitted it at the time.
Their relationship had ended quietly, but not without reason.
Now, seeing him like this, warning me, it only made things more complicated.
As I stood there, watching him walk away, a heavy realization settled over me.
Everything was shifting.
My life, my work, even the truth about my past.
And for the first time, I understood something clearly.
Surviving whatever this was would take more than curiosity or courage.
It would take careful choices.
Because in a world like this, the line between trust and danger was thinner than I ever imagined.