Chapter - 22
Nani barely slept.
The message kept replaying in his head.
Don't bring Sky.
Which, naturally, created one enormous problem.
Sky.
Because Nani was absolutely going to tell him.
Eventually.
Maybe.
After breakfast.
Or lunch.
Or after he stopped panicking.
"Shit."
Nani threw the blanket over his head.
Five minutes later, he emerged.
"Okay. I'm an adult. I can handle one creepy mystery."
His phone buzzed.
Nani jumped.
"FUCK!"
It was Dew.
Dew: You alive?
Nani typed back.
Nani: Unfortunately.
Dew: Breakfast?
Nani: Emotional damage.
Dew: So no breakfast.
Nani: Correct.
---
Downstairs, Sky was already there.
Black shirt.
Sleeves rolled up.
Watch on his wrist.
Coffee untouched beside him.
He looked like he'd spent the morning threatening the furniture.
Nani walked into the room.
Sky's eyes immediately lifted.
"Morning."
Nani sat opposite him.
"Morning."
Sky studied him.
"You didn't sleep."
"I slept."
"No."
"How do you know?"
"Your eyes."
Nani blinked.
"Stop staring at my eyes."
"I like them."
Nani nearly choked.
"What?"
Sky leaned back.
"I said I like your eyes."
"You can't just say things like that."
"Why?"
"Because..."
Nani's brain abandoned him.
Sky's mouth twitched.
"Because you blush?"
"I do not."
"You are right now."
Nani covered his cheeks.
"Shut up."
Sky leaned forward.
His voice dropped.
"You're cute when you're embarrassed."
Nani stared at him.
"You're fucking annoying."
"And yet you keep sitting beside me."
"...This is my chair."
"Then I'll buy the chair."
Nani looked horrified.
"Don't you dare."
Sky actually laughed.
A quiet, genuine laugh.
Nani stared.
There it was again.
That rare version of Sky.
Not the ruthless businessman.
Not the terrifying man everyone avoided.
Just Sky.
Nani's expression softened.
Then Sky ruined the moment.
"You should keep looking at me like that."
"Like what?"
"Like you want me."
Nani's face exploded red.
"I was looking at your face!"
"Exactly."
"You're impossible."
"Probably."
Sky took a sip of coffee.
"Still watching me, though."
Nani threw a napkin at him.
---
The teasing ended when Sky noticed Nani's phone.
"Who's messaging you?"
Nani's smile vanished.
"No one."
Sky's gaze sharpened.
"That's the second lie you've told me."
Nani looked away.
"You count?"
"Everything concerning you."
The words landed harder than Nani expected.
He swallowed.
"Someone messaged me last night."
Sky's expression changed.
"Who?"
"Unknown number."
"What did they say?"
Nani hesitated.
Then handed him the phone.
Sky read the screenshot.
Don't bring Sky.
His face became unreadable.
"Why didn't you tell me immediately?"
"I knew you'd do something stupid."
Sky looked up.
"Define stupid."
"Burning down a building."
"I wouldn't."
Nani narrowed his eyes.
"You literally look like you would."
Sky sighed.
"I'd investigate first."
"That's not reassuring."
---
Tee entered the dining room.
"Boss, we found something about the warehouse."
Sky immediately stood.
"What?"
"The building was sold three times after the incident."
Dew looked up.
"Three times?"
Tee nodded.
"First owner disappeared."
"Second owner died."
Nani went still.
"And the third?"
Tee looked at him.
"Never registered."
Silence.
Nani's stomach twisted.
"How can a building have an owner who isn't registered?"
Tee shrugged.
"Money."
Sky's eyes narrowed.
"Who currently controls it?"
"We're still tracing that."
Nani looked at Sky.
"I want to go."
"No."
"Sky."
"No."
"I need answers."
"You need to stay alive."
"I'm not sitting here while everyone else investigates my life."
Sky stepped closer.
"Then you're not going alone."
Nani folded his arms.
"The message specifically told me not to bring you."
"I noticed."
"So-"
"Which means whoever sent it knows I'm the person most likely to find them."
Nani went quiet.
Sky lowered his voice.
"That's not a warning to you."
"What is it?"
"A challenge."
---
That afternoon...
Nani stood in the hallway while Sky prepared to leave.
Sky adjusted his cuffs.
Nani watched him.
"You're really going?"
"Yes."
"Where?"
"Somewhere you're not."
Nani frowned.
"That's rude."
Sky smiled faintly.
"You'll survive."
"Maybe."
Sky walked past him.
Nani caught his sleeve.
Sky stopped.
Nani looked up.
"...Be careful."
Something softened in Sky's eyes.
"You worried about me?"
"No."
"You're holding my sleeve."
Nani immediately let go.
"I was checking the fabric."
"Of course."
Sky leaned closer.
His voice dropped to a murmur.
"If you're going to worry about me, at least do it honestly."
Nani's ears turned pink.
"Go away."
Sky smiled.
"That's not an answer."
"Go. Away."
He walked off.
Sky watched him disappear.
Then his smile faded.
Because underneath the flirting, one thought wouldn't leave his head.
Someone knew about Nani.
Someone knew about the warehouse.
Someone knew enough about Sky to specifically tell Nani to stay away from him.
That wasn't random.
---
That night, Nani sat alone in the guest room.
He opened the old photograph again.
The warehouse.
The cars.
The strange symbol.
He zoomed into the corner.
There.
A tiny reflection in a car window.
Someone standing nearby.
Nani froze.
He enlarged it.
The image became blurry.
But he could make out one thing.
A woman's silhouette.
Long hair.
Pale coat.
Nani's breathing stopped.
The same woman from the garden.
His phone suddenly buzzed.
Unknown number.
One sentence.
?You finally saw me.?
Nani stared at the screen.
Then another message appeared.
?Now remember what happened after your father came home.?
Nani's hand began to shake.
A final message followed.
?And don't trust the man who tells you he can protect you.?
Nani looked toward the doorway.
Sky was standing there.
Their eyes met.
Neither spoke.
Because for the first time...
Nani couldn't tell whether that final message was a warning about Sky-
or a warning about someone else entirely.
------------
Nani didn't look away from Sky.
Sky didn't move either.
The room felt too quiet.
The phone remained in Nani's hand.
That last message glowed on the screen.
Don't trust the man who tells you he can protect you.
Sky's eyes dropped toward it.
"You got another message."
Nani swallowed.
"Yeah."
"Show me."
Nani hesitated.
Then handed him the phone.
Sky read it once.
His expression didn't change.
That somehow made Nani more nervous.
"Say something."
Sky placed the phone on the table.
"Do you trust me?"
Nani stared at him.
"I don't know."
The answer landed hard.
Sky's jaw tightened.
"Fair."
Nani looked surprised.
"You aren't angry?"
"I am."
"Then why aren't you yelling?"
"Because you're scared."
Sky stepped closer.
"And I'm not going to punish you for being scared of something you don't understand."
Nani looked down.
"...They told me not to trust you."
"I know."
"Why would someone say that?"
"Because they want you suspicious."
"Of you?"
"Of everyone."
Nani's eyes narrowed.
"You're hiding something."
Sky went silent.
Nani gave a bitter little laugh.
"See?"
"I've hidden things."
"That's not an answer."
"No."
Sky looked directly at him.
"But I've never lied about one thing."
"What?"
"You matter to me."
Nani's expression faltered.
Sky's voice dropped.
"More than you should."
Nani's cheeks warmed despite himself.
"That's..."
"Complicated?"
"Annoying."
Sky almost smiled.
"That too."
---
Nani turned away.
"I don't know what to believe anymore."
Sky moved behind him.
"You don't have to believe everything tonight."
"Then what do I do?"
"Stay close."
Nani glanced over his shoulder.
"That's your solution?"
"It's mine."
"Sounds suspiciously possessive."
"I am possessive."
Nani blinked.
Sky didn't even pretend otherwise.
"I don't like people getting near you."
"That's toxic."
"I know."
"You say that like you're proud."
"I'm not."
A pause.
"But I'm not going to lie about what I am."
Nani stared at him.
Sky leaned closer.
"You're allowed to tell me to back off."
"And if I don't?"
Sky's gaze dropped briefly to Nani's lips.
"Then I'll assume you're giving me permission to stay."
Nani's heart skipped.
"You're seriously flirting right now?"
"You're seriously blushing right now."
"Asshole."
"Your asshole."
Nani's mouth fell open.
"That's not how that phrase works!"
Sky finally laughed.
The tension cracked.
Only for a moment.
Then-
BANG.
Something hit the window.
Nani jumped.
Sky immediately turned.
The curtain moved.
Sky crossed the room.
He pulled it open.
Nothing.
Just the garden.
Nani approached cautiously.
"What was that?"
Sky looked down.
A small object lay outside.
He opened the window and retrieved it.
A key.
Old.
Rusty.
Attached to a metal tag.
17.
Nani stared.
"What's that?"
Sky turned it over.
Nothing.
Then Nani noticed the engraving on the back.
A tiny symbol.
The same symbol from the photograph.
His stomach dropped.
"The warehouse."
Sky looked at him.
"You recognize it?"
"I think..."
Nani touched the engraving.
"...this belongs there."
---
An hour later...
Dew, Tee, and Sky stood around the dining table.
The key sat in the middle.
Dew stared at it.
"Okay."
He rubbed his face.
"This is officially above my pay grade."
Tee looked at him.
"You don't get paid."
"Exactly. Even worse."
Nani ignored them.
"Someone wants me to go there."
Sky shook his head.
"Someone wants you to think they want you there."
"What's the difference?"
"The difference is whether we're walking into a trap."
Nani sighed.
"Everything is a trap with you."
"Because everything around you lately has been."
Nani looked at him.
"You really think someone is following me?"
Sky's eyes hardened.
"I know."
Silence.
Dew frowned.
"Then why haven't they attacked?"
Tee answered quietly.
"Maybe they're waiting."
"For what?"
Nobody answered.
Nani looked at the key.
Then whispered,
"For me to remember."
---
Later that night...
Sky stood alone in his office.
He opened an old encrypted file.
The warehouse symbol appeared on the screen.
His expression changed.
He recognized it.
Not from Nani's photograph.
From somewhere much older.
A classified operation.
October 2021.
Sky's finger hovered over the file.
He didn't open it.
Instead, he closed the screen.
"No."
He whispered to himself.
"That can't be connected."
A knock came.
Tee entered.
"Boss?"
Sky looked up.
"Did anyone access the old October files?"
Tee shook his head.
"No."
Sky's eyes narrowed.
"Check again."
"Why?"
Sky looked toward the dark window.
"Because someone just handed Nani a key to a place that should've stayed buried."
---
Across the city...
A woman sat inside a parked car.
The same old photograph rested on the passenger seat.
She looked at Nani's picture.
Then at the key in her hand.
Her eyes hardened.
"Not yet."
She placed the key back into the envelope.
"He remembers too little."
Her phone rang.
She answered.
A man's voice came through.
"He's with Sky."
"I know."
"Then why are you helping him?"
The woman stared through the windshield.
"Because I know what happens when Nani is left alone with monsters."
A pause.
"And Sky?"
She closed her eyes.
"...I haven't decided what he is yet."
The call ended.
She looked toward Dew's villa in the distance.
Then whispered:
"Remember slowly, Nani."
"Because once you remember everything..."
Her expression darkened.
"...you'll realize nobody in that house was telling you the truth."