“What do you mean, poisoned?” I demand sharply.
“A doctor’s already been called,” Misha continues, “but her condition—”
I don’t hear the rest.
Something in my chest snaps clean through.
I’m already moving.
“Car,” I bark.
Mike says something behind me—my name, maybe—but I don’t stop. I don’t even slow down.
Misha is already ahead of me, opening the door.
We’re out of the building in seconds.
The cold air hits, but I barely feel it.
Everything narrows into one thought. One image. One name.
Valeria.
In the car, I don’t sit. I don’t relax back. I lean forward, elbows on my knees, fists clenched. My mind is no longer negotiating or calculating. It’s burning through possibilities at a speed that feels violent.
“Drive faster,” I say flatly.
Misha doesn’t respond. He just does it.
The city blurs past the window.
But all I see is red.
Someone got through. Again.
Inside my house.
Inside her space.
My jaw tightens hard enough to ache.
If something happens to her—
I cut the thought off immediately.
No.
Not an option.
Not allowed.
I exhale slowly through my nose, forcing control back into my hands, my breathing, my mind.
But the truth doesn’t change.
Someone reached Valeria.
And when I find out who, there won’t be anything left of them to explain it.
