Chapter Sixty-Three: The Business

I started the consulting firm on a Monday.

Not because I had a grand plan. Not because I'd spent weeks preparing. Because I woke up that morning and realized I couldn't spend another day doing nothing.

Adrian was in the kitchen when I came out of my room. He was making coffee. He didn't turn when I entered.

"I need an office," I said.

He paused. He turned. He looked at me.

"An office," he repeated.

"A real one. Not the one you gave me. Not the one in your building. My own."

He poured two cups. He handed me one.

"Why?"

"Because I need something that's mine. Something I built. Something that isn't about revenge or contracts or anything else."

He studied me. He didn't smile. But something in his expression shifted. Something warm.

"There's a space on the tenth floor," he said. "It's empty. You can use it."

"No."

He blinked. "No?"

"I don't want your space. I don't want your building. I want to find my own."

He set down his cup. He looked at me.

"You're serious."

"I'm serious."

He was quiet for a moment. Then he nodded.

"Then find your own," he said.

I did.

---

The office was on the third floor of a building downtown.

It was small. One room. A window that looked out at another building. A desk that had seen better days. A chair that squeaked. But it was mine. I'd found it. I'd signed the lease. I'd paid the deposit with my own money.

I stood in the middle of the room and looked at it. The empty walls. The dusty floor. The potential.

I didn't know what I was going to do with it. But I knew I was going to do something.

---

Felix came by the next day.

He walked in without knocking. He looked around. He didn't say anything for a long moment.

"It's small," he said.

"It's mine."

He nodded. He walked to the window. He looked out at the building across the street.

"What are you going to do with it?"

"I don't know yet."

He turned. He looked at me.

"You could do what you did for Adrian. Investigative work. Security consulting. The same thing you've been doing for months."

I considered that. "Maybe. But I don't want to just do what I've been doing. I want to do something new."

He nodded. He didn't push.

"Let me know when you figure it out," he said.

He left.

---

I figured it out three days later.

I was sitting at my desk. I was staring at the wall. I was thinking about my mother. About her journal. About everything she'd tried to do.

She was a journalist. An investigator. She'd spent years gathering evidence against Henry. She'd built a case that would have destroyed him. But she'd done it alone. She'd had no one to help her. No one to protect her.

I could help people like her.

I picked up my phone. I called Claire Bennett.

"Claire. It's Elena."

"Elena. What's going on?"

"I'm starting a firm. Investigative work. Research. Security consulting. For journalists. For investigators. For anyone who's trying to expose the truth and needs help."

She was quiet for a moment. Then she said, "That's a good idea."

"I know."

"Who's your first client?"

"You are."

She laughed. It was a real laugh. The first one I'd heard from her.

"What do you need?"

"Everything you have on Volkov. Every lead. Every source. Every dead end."

"You're going after him."

"I'm going to finish what I started."

---

That afternoon, I found Adrian in his office.

He was on the phone. He hung up when he saw me.

"You started a firm," he said.

"Felix told you."

"Felix tells me everything."

I sat across from him. I folded my hands on his desk.

"I'm going after Volkov. Not just for me. For everyone he's hurt. For everyone he's going to hurt."

He looked at me. He didn't blink.

"You're not doing it alone," he said.

"I know."

"You're not going to shut me out."

"I know."

"You're going to let me help."

"I know."

He was quiet for a moment. Then he nodded.

"Good," he said.

I stood. I walked to the door. I paused.

"Adrian."

He looked up.

"Thank you. For not trying to stop me."

He didn't respond. He just looked at me.

"I learned a long time ago that I can't stop you," he said. "I can only help you."

I left.

---

That evening, I found Daniel in the living room.

He was sitting on the couch. He was reading. He looked up when I entered.

"You started a firm," he said.

"Felix told you."

"Felix tells everyone everything."

I sat beside him.

"I want to help," he said.

"You already help."

"I want to do more. I want to work with you. For real. Not just staying here. Not just waiting. I want to be part of it."

I looked at him. He looked at me.

"You don't have to," I said.

"I know. I want to."

I considered this. I thought about everything he'd been through. Everything he'd survived.

"Okay," I said.

He almost smiled. Almost.

"Thank you," he said.

"For what?"

"For letting me stay. For letting me help. For being my sister."

I didn't respond. I didn't know how.

We sat there. The city hummed outside. The clock ticked.

After a while, he said, "What's our first move?"

I looked at him. He looked at me.

"We find Volkov," I said. "And we end this. For good."

He nodded. He didn't ask anything else.

---

That night, I sat on the balcony.

Adrian was beside me. He didn't speak. He didn't reach for me. He just sat there.

The city hummed outside. The lights flickered. I watched them.

"It's strange," I said.

"What?"

"Having something that's mine. Something I built. Something that isn't about revenge or contracts or anything else."

He didn't respond. He just waited.

"I spent so long planning this. Dreaming about it. Living for it. And now it's done. And I have something new. Something I chose."

He was quiet for a moment. Then he said, "That's what living is."

I looked at him. He looked at me.

"I'm learning," I said.

He reached for my hand. He took it. His fingers were warm. Steady.

"Good," he said.

We sat there. The city hummed. The clock ticked.

After a while, I leaned my head against his shoulder. He didn't move. He just let me.

We stayed there until morning.