Sebastian~
Six Hours Earlier
I sat alone, fingers drumming against my knee, dressed in my favorite black three-piece suit—silk lapels, gold cufflinks, not a wrinkle in sight. Still, I felt like a wreck inside.
I had barely touched the blood in the crystal glass beside me. Vintage AB-negative, imported straight from our labs in the Alps. Smooth, sweet, with a hint of spice. It tasted like ash on my tongue.
Luca and Amelia were still out searching. Every second that passed without news tightened the vice in my chest. Cassandra—no, Brielle—was still out there. And if she really was her, then everything I thought I knew was about to collapse like a bad soufflé.
The lounge was deathly quiet—until a soft, almost apologetic knock disrupted the silence.
I straightened in my seat, brows furrowing. That wasn't the knock of someone eager. It was hesitant, uncertain. "Enter," I called, voice smooth, steady. Not a trace of the storm swirling beneath my surface.
