The line goes dead.
I stare at my phone, heart pounding so hard I can feel it in my throat.
Julian looks up. “What was that?”
“Cassian. He wants to meet.”
“What about?”
“He didn’t say. Just told me to be somewhere in an hour.”
Julian sets down his pen. “You’re not going alone.”
“I have to go.”
“Then I’m coming with you.”
“Julian—”
“This is not negotiable, Aurelia.” His voice is firm.
I want to argue. Want to tell him I can handle Cassian, that bringing Julian will only make things worse. But the ice in Cassian’s voice replays in my head, and I’m not sure I can handle whatever this is.
“Okay,” I say quietly. “You can come.”
Julian stands and calls for security.
The address comes through two minutes later. An office building in Midtown. Private, neutral ground.
We take Julian’s car. He sits beside me in the back while two security men sit up front. Nobody speaks during the drive.
My mind races through possibilities.
Does he know?
How could he know?
The locket. If he found it, if he saw the initials—but even then, F and L could mean anything. He couldn’t possibly find out about the twins from two letters.
Unless he investigated. Unless he started digging and found something.
No. That’s impossible. Victor kept everything locked down. The property in Ireland was under shell companies. The records were buried. There’s no way Cassian could have traced it.
But the fear coiling in my stomach says otherwise.
“What do you think this is about?” Julian asks.
I don’t answer.
He looks at me, and I can see him putting pieces together. “Aurelia. What did you do?”
“Nothing.”
“Then why do you look terrified?”
“I’m not terrified.”
“You’re shaking.”
