"It sounds insane. Keira, what's going on? Are you in trouble?"
"Yes," I admitted. "But I'm safe. I'm protected. The man I married—he's protecting me."
"From what?"
"I can't tell you that."
"Keira—"
"I mean it, Amber. I can't. Not because I don't trust you, but because knowing would put you in danger. And I'm not going to do that."
She was quiet for a long moment. I could picture her sitting in her living room, Lily probably playing on the floor nearby, her whole normal life spread out around her like a safety net I didn't have.
"Is he good to you?" she asked finally. "This man you married?"
I thought about Rodion. About the way he'd stepped between me and the guns without hesitation. About the kiss that had left me shaken. About the photographs of his dead brother and mother, and the grief he still carried.
"I think so," I said. "I think he's trying to be."
"That's not the same as yes."
"No. But it's the best I can offer right now."
"And you're sure you're safe?"
"As sure as I can be."
Another long pause. "I don't like this," she said. "I don't like any of this. You've always been so careful, so controlled. This isn't like you."
"I know."
"But you're not going to tell me more."
"I can't."
She sighed, a sound of resignation and worry mixed together. "Okay. I'm not going to pretend I understand, because I don't. But I'm here. Whatever you need, whenever you need it. You know that, right?"
"I know."
"And Keira? Call me. Regularly. So I know you're still alive."
"I will. I promise."
"I'm holding you to that."
We said goodbye, and I sat in the silence of Rodion's study, the phone pressed against my chest. Amber's voice had grounded me somehow, reminded me that there was a world outside this penthouse, outside this crisis. A world I might be able to return to someday, if I survived long enough.
I spent the next hour making harder calls. My receptionist Margaret first—family emergency, indefinite leave, please cancel all appointments and refer urgent cases to David Chen. Then, a few patients directly, the ones I worried about most, the ones who might spiral without warning. Brief conversations, reassuring words, promises to return as soon as I could.
Lies, all of it. But necessary ones.
A knock at the door made me look up. Rodion again, his expression more serious this time.
"Everything okay?"
"I talked to my friend. Amber. She's worried, but she won't push. And I've cancelled my appointments. Margaret is handling the referrals."
"Good." He hesitated in the doorway. "Kirill wants to talk to both of us. Something's happened."
