I need to do it
Valeria
The waiting is unbearable.
I keep myself busy however I can: scientific journals, streaming shows, even cat videos. Stephen—who’s slowly losing his mind from my frustrated sighs—regularly steps outside to talk with Galen, who’s taken over from Youri.
At twelve-thirty, my phone rings.
“I’ve got something,” Mara says the second I answer. “There was an attempted breach on Aurenza’s servers last night.”
I go still.
“R&D?”
“Yes. They were stopped before they got in, but barely.”
I stare at nothing for a moment.
“That’s not a coincidence.”
“No,” she confirms. “They’re changing tactics.”
“My return is making them nervous.”
“Yes. They’re going to escalate now that their legal access may be permanently compromised. Wald knows you’ll never sign with them.”
“I don’t have a choice anymore. I need to do it.”
Silence settles on the other end of the line. Then Mara finally replies,
“In that case, I’ll get you what you need.”
Hugo arrives at the manor in the middle of the afternoon.
We settle onto the couch with two mugs of coffee.
“The provisional order came through this morning,” he says, placing a copy of the ruling on the coffee table. “The court ruled in your favor. Temporary restoration of your property rights pending final judgment. And immediate reinstatement to your position.”
I pick up the documents and skim through them quickly before asking:
“And Dante?”
“His lawyers acknowledged receipt,” Hugo replies. “No objection has been filed so far. You can return to the lab tomorrow.”
He lifts his mug and takes a sip.
Dante is keeping his promise.
And whatever his reasons are, the result is the same.
I take a distracted sip of coffee.
Hugo studies me carefully.
“You’re not telling me everything.”
“That way, you’ll honestly be able to say you don’t know.”
He frowns.
“God, what exactly are you getting yourself into?”
“Nothing that isn’t absolutely necessary.”
He watches me for a long moment, measuring my determination.
“Fine. You know where to find me if you need me.”
“Thank you, Hugo. For everything.”
After he leaves, Stephen comes back inside.
“So?” he asks.
“I’m going back to the lab tomorrow.”
The pain hits without warning.
I set my tablet aside and close my eyes, hoping it’ll pass.
“Migraine?” Stephen asks, already on his feet.
Before I can protest, he lifts me effortlessly from the couch with a gentleness completely at odds with his size and carries me upstairs.
Ever since what happened to me, I struggle with people getting too close.
But Stephen was there during my worst moments. Protecting my safety as much as my health.
My Saint Bernard.
I snort at the thought.
If he knew I compared him to a rescue dog, he’d probably kill me himself.
Completely unaware of my ridiculous thoughts, he hands me a glass of water and two pills.
I swallow them without argument before lying down.
Moments like this are when I miss Dante the most.
I’d give anything for him to be here.
Even though once this damn migraine faded, he’d probably drag me outside despite all my complaints.
When my parents died, Bianca cried with me. She kept repeating that things would eventually get better. That time healed everything.
Dante was different.
He never tried to find the perfect words. He was just there. Present.
Then, after a week, he forced me out of the apartment.
Every single day.
On rainy days, he’d take me to crowded cafés.
On sunny days, parks.
Sometimes I hated him for not letting me grieve in peace.
But eventually, I understood.
He refused to watch me disappear into my grief. Refused to let me lock myself away until there was nothing left of me.
And when the weight became too heavy…
When breathing itself felt impossible…
He simply held me against him.
Without speaking.
Without trying to fix anything.
He was just there.
I never realized how precious that was.
A tear slips down my cheek just as sleep finally pulls me under.
By the time I wake up, night has fallen.
Mara has just arrived carrying two still-steaming pizzas.
“You’re here at the perfect time,” Stephen tells me after giving me a full visual inspection to check my condition.
At this rate, he’s going to start mothering me.
We settle around the kitchen island and begin eating before Mara updates us.
“Ivanov spent the morning locked in a board meeting,” she explains after swallowing a bite of food. “Peltier fought hard against your return to the lab. Bianca sided with him.”
She pauses.
“But Ivanov ruled in your favor anyway.”
A fleeting smile crosses her face.
“Peltier’s been furious ever since. Bianca went to lunch with him to try to put out the fire.”
“As for Dante, he was tied up in a video conference.”
I absorb the information without comment.
“Anything else?”
“The atmosphere in the hallways is tense. Everyone’s talking about you, especially the research teams. Some are happy. Others are more cautious. Louane Nguyen, head of R&D, hasn’t said anything publicly, but I wouldn’t say she’s thrilled to have you back.”
“Okay. I’ll be careful.”
Without a word, her expression grave, she slides a USB drive across the table toward me.
I reach out and take it.
“There’s a risk we still haven’t discussed,” she says as my fingers close around it. “If you get caught, they could charge you with industrial espionage.”
“I know. If I get caught, I lose everything. My career. My reputation. My freedom.”
I clasp my trembling hands together to steady them.
Then straighten.
“Someone wants my research for all the wrong reasons. I refuse to take that risk.”
Mara holds my gaze for a long moment.
“Okay,” she says at last. “We’re with you.”
Stephen nods in agreement.
I start to protest, but Mara cuts me off.
“You don’t need to worry about us. We’re professionals. We know how to cover our tracks. If you get caught, we’ll deny everything.”
She pauses.
“We’ll probably throw you under the bus too, if necessary.”
She’s joking.
Right?