CHAPTER NINE

NORA POV

I watch Jayden disappear into the hallway without looking back.

Until now, I’d believed keeping my life separate from work depended entirely on me. I was wrong.

Now I’m depending on someone else to protect it too, and that’s far more dangerous.

The file he left sits untouched on my desk.

Finance projections. A perfectly reasonable excuse to walk over.

I try to focus on work, but Jayden’s warning won’t stop coming back.

If Davis starts asking him questions, I won’t be able to control what comes out.

When the office finally settles into silence, I walk into the hallway and call Lucy. She answers almost immediately.

“Hello, Lucy.”

“Hey, Nora.”

She tries to sound calm, but I can hear the strain in her voice.

I hold my phone a little tighter.

“What happened?”

She doesn’t answer right away.

I hear a door close somewhere in the background, then voices I can’t quite make out.

She lets out a shaky breath.

“Mum’s condition has gotten worse.”

My heart drops.

“What do you mean?”

“I took her back to the clinic this morning because the pain came back. They changed the medication again, but…” Her voice breaks. “They said the medicine she’s been taking isn’t working anymore.”

A cold knot settles in my stomach.

“What did the doctor say?”

“They want to run more tests.”

“How many?”

“I don’t know yet.”

“And after that?”

“They think she’ll need another round of treatment.”

I close my eyes.

Every extra shift, every unpaid bill, every promise I’ve made to Lucy, every lie I’ve told Mai that everything will be okay.

None of it has been enough.

Treatment.

That word always means the same thing. Money, money that I don’t have.

“They said we shouldn’t wait too long,” Lucy continues quietly. “If we delay it again, things could get worse.”

I lean against the hallway wall, loosening my fingers slightly around the phone.

“I’ll figure something out.”

“I knew you’d say that.”

“I will.”

“Nora…”

She sounds exhausted, not because of work but because of carrying too much on her own.

“I don’t know how much longer we can keep saying we’ll figure something out.”

Her words hit harder than they should. I’ve been asking myself the same question for years.

Every solution has only bought us a little more time, never a way out, and time is becoming the one thing my family no longer has.

“I need you to come after work,” Lucy says. “We have to decide what we’re going to do.”

“I’ll be there.”

“And Nora…”

“Yes?”

“I don’t think we have much time.”

We stay silent for a few moments.

Neither of us says what we’re both thinking, because saying it aloud would make it real.

“I’ll leave as soon as I can,” I whisper.

“Okay.”

The call ends.

I keep staring at the dark screen for several long seconds before lowering the phone.

My chest feels tight.

One problem after another.

Mum. Mai. This job. Davis. Jayden.

Every part of my life is pulling me in a different direction, and sooner or later, something is going to break.

“Ms. Edward.”

I look up.

Davis’s assistant is standing a few feet away, her usual professional smile replaced by a more serious expression.

“Mr. Rowan would like to see you.”

For one crazy second, I wonder if refusing is an option. It isn’t.

“Now?”

“Yes.”

She looks toward the executive corridor.

“He asked that you come immediately.”

A knot forms in my stomach. Whatever waits behind that office door, I know it isn’t good.

I slip my phone into my bag and force myself to move.

The hallway feels longer than it did earlier.

Every step feels like I’m walking toward a verdict.

My mind won’t stop racing.

Did Davis ask Jayden something?

Did Jayden tell him anything?

No.

I force myself to breathe. I’m letting my imagination run ahead of me.

I reach the executive corridor and stop outside Davis’s office. The door is slightly open.

I glance inside.

My breath catches.

Jayden is already there.

Not standing. Not leaving.

Sitting across from Davis’s desk.

Waiting.

My heart begins to pound so loudly I’m sure they can both hear it.

Davis looks up first.

His expression is hard to read.

Jayden turns slowly in his chair until our eyes meet.

Neither of them says a word.

Davis closes the file in front of him and gestures toward the empty chair across from his desk.

“Ms. Edward.”

His calm voice does nothing to ease the panic building inside me.

“Come in and have your seat.”

I step inside.

The office door closes behind me.

Davis looks from Jayden to me.

Then he shifts the file in front of him to one side.

“I’ve made a decision.”

None of us speaks.

“Starting today, the two of you will be working together on Orion.”

My breath catches.

Davis’s eyes meet mine.

“And from this moment on…”

He pauses.

“…I expect complete honesty from both of you.”