The apartment was quiet after Dave left. It felt heavy. Like the air was waiting for something to happen.

I stayed by the door for a long time. My back pressed against it. My side hurt with every heartbeat. I wanted to stay still, but I couldn't. My body kept moving even though my mind didn't.

I kept thinking about the way he looked at me. His eyes stayed on me, calm and focused, like he was trying to understand me. Like he was trying to see something I wasn't ready to show. I leaned back against the door, holding the edge, wishing I could disappear without moving.."

I didn't show him everything."

It didn't matter. He'd seen too much anyway.

I slid down the door slowly until I was sitting on the floor. Knees to my chest. My hand pressed to the wound. The pain wasn't sharp anymore. It just stayed there, steady and heavy, reminding me it hadn't gone away.

A quiet, bitter laugh slipped out. Smart move. Really smart.

I pressed my forehead against my knees,trying to calm down. I tried to breathe. In. Out. In. Out.

It didn't help at first. My mind kept replaying him. The way he paused, how his voice dropped when he told me to go to the hospital. The way he looked at me when my eyes betrayed me.

I shouldn't have let him get that close. I shouldn't have helped that woman. I shouldn't have let him see me bleed.

But I always do. I can't stop. And this time... it might've cost me.

After a long while, I pushed myself up. Locked the door. Checked the windows twice. Just in case.

Then I went to bed. I couldn't sleep. I laid there staring at the ceiling, thinking about everything that could go wrong. Thinking about what he could do if he tried to investigate. What if he talked to someone? What if he ran background checks? What if he tried to follow the trail of people I'd helped?

                                     ***

Morning came so fast. I got dressed like nothing happened.

Black pants. Gray blouse. Hair in the perfect chignon. A touch of makeup. Just enough to pass for normal..

But I wasn't normal. I felt tired, sore, and still angry. But no one needed to know that.

I Walked out of the apartment, the city was busy, full of noise. Cars honked, people talked as they moved along. The smells of food and traffic were in the air. I kept my head down and walked, trying to act like everything was normal.

When I got in the car, I just sat. Hands in my lap. Tried to shake off the pain, but it stayed. My mind kept going back to last night. To Dave. To what I could have done differently..

By the time I stepped into Aurora Luxe, I had put on my mask. Face calm. Back straight. Acting like nothing had happened.

"Elena," I said before I even reached my office.

She was there. Standing outside my office, tablet in hand. Always ready and professional.

"Good morning, Ms. Stevens. Nine a.m. moved to nine-fifteen. Traffic?"

"Yes. Thanks."

She followed me inside quietly. Closed the door softly.

"Board lunch at one," she said. "PR wants a statement about Langford rumors. I drafted three options."

I nodded. Sat. Not really thinking about the options. My side still hurts and my mind still caught on Dave.

"And Victor Langford is downstairs," she added.

I looked up. "Already?"

"He asked if you were available. I said you were busy."

"With what?"

"Morning review."

I exhaled softly. "Let him wait."

"Of course," she said.

She hesitated a little. "Do you want me to reschedule anything else today?"

I shook my head. "I'll manage."

She nodded. "Okay. Coffee will be here soon. I'll keep interruptions low."

She closed the door behind her. Everything went quiet.

I sat at my desk, opened a file I had memorized. My eyes moved over the numbers and names, but I wasn't really reading. Dave's face kept cutting in. The way he had paused. The way he looked at me. Like he wanted to understand, like he wanted to help, like he... cared.

I pressed my hand to my forehead. I shouldn't have let him see that. Shouldn't have let him get close. But I always try to help people. Even when it gets me in trouble.

Elena came back a few minutes later.

"Ms. Stevens... Victor Langford is still waiting for you. Eleven o'clock," she said, calm, matter-of-fact.

I blinked. Oh. Right. Of course he did.

"What does he want this time?" I asked, trying to sound casual, but my voice came out sharper than I meant.

"To smile in your face," she said, flat. "And cause trouble later."

"Sounds about right."

"He's been asking questions. Quietly."

"About?"

"You."

I laughed softly. "That's new."

"He's telling people you're... unstable."

"Because I don't need him?"

"Yes," she said.

"Fine. I'll see him."

She frowned, like she didn't like it. Good. Someone should.

Victor showed up right on time. He walked in like he owned the place. Hair perfect, suit sharp, that fake-perfect smile. And of course, he noticed everything. Great. Just what I needed today.

He looked like he stepped out of a fancy magazine. Too bad he didn't come with honesty.

"Meredith," he said. "You look... thinner."

"Oh, thanks for noticing," I said. "Really helpful. Now, what did you come here for?"

He smiled like he thought he was charming. "Still sharp. Shame, really."

"Uh-huh. And the point is?"

"The board worries. Late nights. Strange incidents. Police interest."

I raised an eyebrow. "Worried or gossiping?"

"Observation."

"Right. Observe this," I said. "I'm not scared."

He glanced at my side for a split second. Quick. Too quick. I made a mental note to never let him see the my reaction to pain when I move

"You push too hard," he said quietly. "Even strong women break."

I leaned back, slow and casual. "Careful. Men who think I break? They disappear from relevance. Just saying."

Perfect timing-Elena opened the door. "Ms. Stevens has another meeting."

Victor's smile didn't reach his eyes. "We'll talk soon."

"Nope," I said. "We won't."

He left. Door closed. Silence. Bliss.

I sank back into my chair, hand on my side, thinking: Yep. Just what I needed. A man judging me while I'm bleeding. Fantastic.

Dave was a problem. Victor was a threat. And the city... was watching.

I took a sip of the coffee Elena had left, warm, bitter, and normal, like nothing had happened, but inside everything felt different

I made it through the day. Meetings, calls, decisions... one after the other. I kept everything calm on the outside. Nobody had to know the chaos running through my head.

But I felt it. Every glance. Every whisper. Every step outside my office. I felt the world watching me. Felt it close.

And I couldn't stop thinking about Dave. About what might happen if he tried to dig. If he asked questions. If he connected dots he shouldn't.

I hated that I couldn't stop worrying. Hated that I always tried to help people. Hated that it always brought trouble to my door.

I closed my laptop after the last meeting and just stared out the window. The city was alive-car honking, people rushing, lights flashing everywhere. It felt like it could swallow you whole if you weren't careful.

And I knew it wouldn't end. Not yet. Not ever.

MEREDITH

The office was really quiet. Like, scary quiet. You know that feeling when the sun goes down and the cleaners haven't started yet, so the whole place feels like it's holding its breath? Yeah. That.

I was leaning against my desk, trying to breathe like a normal person, but my ribs felt like they were being squeezed by a giant, angry hand that really hated me.The adrenaline from roasting Victor earlier was totally gone. Now, I just felt like trash. All I had left was pain and exhaustion and the strong urge to lie face-down on the floor and never move again.

After Victor Langford, this can't be how it ends.

My side was hurting. It wasn't the sharp pain anymore. It was this weird, heavy ache that felt like it was spreading through my blood. I'm a wolf. I'm supposed to heal. Scratches vanished in an hour. Broken bones were annoying but manageable. This stupid wound, though, felt like it was spreading instead of shrinking, acting like I was a normal human.

"Okay, body. What the hell? Get it together."

That was when Elena walked in, She held out a folder like it was the most important thing in the world.

"Ms. Stevens," she said gently, "One last document, then you're officially free."

"Music to my ears."

I reached for my pen-my favorite gold one-and that's when everything went south. My hand started shaking, it shook hard and I couldn't control it.

Oh no. No, no, no.

Stop it. Are you kidding me? Move, hand. Move.

I forced my fingers on the pen.The second I did, I felt pain moving round my body like liquid fire and everything went still for a second.

That's when it hit me.

I hadn't even thought about the knife. I mean, who cares about the knife, right? I'd been stabbed, I'd been treating it like a normal cut, done my little herbal nonsense, assumed it would vanish like always. But this? This was... wrong. Really wrong. The pain wasn't fading. It was spreading. My blood was rejecting me. And then I realized-holy hell-it had to be silver. Of course it was silver. That's why nothing worked. That's why I wasn't healing.

My parents used to talk about it. The one thing that could actually mess us up. Silver.

I'd always thought they were being paranoid. Like, who the hell carries silver weapons in New York City?

Apparently, the asshole who stabbed me.

Oh, for God's sake, Silver. Are you kidding me?"l

"Ms. Stevens?" Elena's voice was suddenly right there. "You're... you're sweating. And you're really pale."

She reached out and touched my hand. She jumped back like I'd burned her. "You're freezing! Meredith, your skin is like ice."

I tried to pull back, tried to give her the 'Iron Goddess' look, but I was failing hard. "I'm fine, Elena. Just... it's the AC. It's too high."

"The AC is off," she said, her voice rising. "You look terrible. Like you saw a ghost. I'm calling a doctor."

"No," I snapped. "No doctors. No hospitals. Just... give me a minute."

The room started to spin. My parents weren't crazy. They were right. They were ready for this, and I was just sitting here pretending to be a CEO while my blood was literally turning against me.

"Meredith, please," Elena said, reaching for her phone. "You're scaring me."

I grabbed her wrist. My grip was weak, but it was enough.

"No hospitals," I whispered. "Elena, please. I can't. They'll ask questions. I can't answer them. No one can know. Fuck... just promise me."

Her eyes filled with tears.

Before she could answer, my laptop made a sharp sound.

Ping.

I looked up just in time to see a red box flash on the screen.

SECURITY BREACH DETECTED:

PENTHOUSE ACCESS

I laughed weakly. "You have got to be kidding me."

Someone was in my penthouse. My sanctuary. The one place where I could take off the heels and be the monster I was born to be. If it was Lucas, I'd kill him. If it was a burglar, I'd almost feel sorry for him-he was about to find a very grumpy, very poisoned werewolf

I tried to say something-to tell Elena to call Dave, or to run, Anything-but the words wouldn't come.

Everything went dark, like an old TV shutting off, and the last thing I heard was Elena screaming my name before everything just... stopped.

DAVE

I'd been staring at my screen for so long that the words stopped looking like words. On the screen, the lab report was staring back at me. The letters were big and loud.

DNA ANALYSIS: INCONCLUSIVE / MUTATED.

Mutated. What the hell does that even mean? Is she a science experiment? Did she fall into some toxic waste or something? Like what the fuck was going on?

My coffee was freezing cold. It tasted like bitter sand water but I drank it anyway. Mutated didn't mean anything. It wasn't a diagnosis or a conclusion. It was just a fancy way of saying we have no idea what the hell this is. And somehow, that scared me more than if it had said something definite.

I was tired, stressed, and confused. If I hit the 'Submit' button, Meredith Stevens is done for. The government would take her. They'd put her in some basement with guys in white lab suits before I could even finish my shift.

I thought about her in that apartment, the way she looked at me. Her hazel eyes had turned gold. They were literally glowing. And then that tiny, weak whisper. "No hospital. Please."

She wasn't the "Iron Goddess" in that moment. She looked like a girl who was terrified of her own secret.

"Hey, Callahan!"

I jumped so hard I almost knocked my coffee onto my lap. It was Miller. He was leaning against my desk, looking way too relaxed.

"You look like hell," he said. "Rough night?"

"Something like that," I muttered.

"How did it go with the CEO? Did she tell you the truth?

I felt a cold sweat on the back of my neck. I looked at the 'Submit' button, then back at Miller. My brain was screaming don't do it. The lie came out of my mouth before I could stop it.

"She wasn't there," I said. I tried to keep my voice flat, like I didn't care. "The people at the front desk said she was working from home. It was a total waste of time."

Miller raised an eyebrow. He looked surprised. "Really? The Iron Goddess taking a day off? That's weird. Well, the Captain wants that DNA report. Are you filing it now?"

"Later," I said quickly. "System's being slow."

Miller laughed. "Whatever man, Don't stay up all night staring at the screens. Go home."

"Yeah," I said. "You too."

As soon as Miller walked away, I grabbed my jacket and bolted. I was officially lying to my partner. I was officially a bad cop. But I couldn't just sit there. I needed to see her. I needed to know what the hell was happening before I accidentally ruined her life.

I didn't even look at the receptionist when I got to Aurora Luxe Holdings, I just flashed my badge and walked straight to the elevators like I owned the place.

When I got to the top floor, it was too quiet. It wasn't the "rich people" kind of quiet. It was the "something is wrong" kind of quiet.

Then I heard it. A muffled cry coming from behind the big office doors. I didn't knock. I shoved them open.

"Meredith?"

She was on the floor. The most powerful woman in Manhattan was piled in a heap next to her desk. Her face was as white as a sheet of paper. Elena, her assistant, was on her knees next to her. She was shaking so hard she could barely hold her phone. Her thumb was about to press the 'Call' button.

"Detective! Thank God!" Elena cried. She looked like she was about to burst into tears. "She just collapsed. I'm calling emergency services right now-"

"Don't!" I shouted.

Elena froze. She looked at me like I was crazy. "What? She's not waking up! Get out of my way, I have to call!"

I stepped over and snatched the phone right out of her hand.

"Are you insane?" Elena screamed. She tried to grab it back, but I held it up high. "She's dying! Give me my phone back!"

"Listen to me!" I grabbed her shoulders. I didn't want to hurt her, but I needed her to snap out of it. "Look at me, Elena! Focus!"

"She told me yesterday, at her place that she has a condition. Something private. She was very clear, Elena. No hospitals. Do you understand?"

"She never told me that!" Elena yelled. "She's my boss! I care about her life, I don't care about some stupid secrets!"

"Do you know what happens if the news people see her like this?" I lowered my voice. I tried to sound calm, even though my heart was banging against my ribs. "They will dig into her life and tear her apart. She told me she'd rather die than have the whole world poking around in her business. You know how she is, Elena. She's proud. Is that what you want? To humiliate her?"

Elena looked down at Meredith. Then she looked back at me. Her bottom lip was trembling. "But... she looks so sick. What if she doesn't wake up, Detective? What if she dies because of you?"

Suddenly, a loud ping came from the desk.

We both looked at the laptop. A red box was flashing on the screen.

SECURITY BREACH DETECTED: PENTHOUSE ACCESS.

"Oh my God," Elena whispered. She went even paler. "Someone is in her house?"

My cop brain took over. If someone was at her place, it wasn't safe. And if I took her to a hospital, She'd be trapped.Whoever was at her house would just find her at the hospital.

"Someone's at her house," I said. I reached down and scooped Meredith up. She was ice-cold. It felt like I was holding a statue made of marble. "We can't go to her place. And we are definitely not going to the hospital."

"Then where are we going?" Elena asked grabbing Meredith's bag and her laptop. "We can't just drive around!"

I headed for the private elevator.

"My place," I said.

"Your place? Are you kidding me?" Elena said. "That is kidnapping! You are kidnapping a billionaire CEO! Do you know how much trouble we are in?"

"I'm saving her life," I said. I wasn't sure if I was lying to her or myself, but I didn't have another choice.I got Meredith into the back seat of my car, supporting her head, making sure she was breathing. As I pulled out into the crazy New York traffic, I looked at her in the rearview mirror.

I had lied to my partner. I had ignored a lab report. And now I was taking the city's most famous woman to a crappy one-bedroom apartment in Queens that smelled like laundry detergent.

Congratulations, Dave, I thought. You are officially the worst cop in New York. You're going to jail for sure.