BANG!
Blood quickly splattered on the wall to Stephen’s left as a hole suddenly appeared in his right temple. It happened fast, but for so reason, he still saw Atlas’s upright posture tilt from his point of view. Then, there was the loud thud of his body hitting the floor—dying right then and there.
---
"Uncle?" Atlas called. "Uncle."
Stephen snapped his eyes open, blinking several tis as he looked at himself. He imdiately touched his temple, then turned his head toward the window of the conference room. The floor-to-ceiling windows were still intact, showing no sign of a bullet going through them.
After a mont, Atlas frowned. "Uncle, are you sure you’re okay?"
"Huh?" Stephen let out a short noise, looking back at Atlas. He couldn’t help but glance at the wall on his left, seeing no blood there. ’Did I hallucinate and saw my death?’
Just now, Stephen was sure he heard glass shattering before a sharp pain drilled into his temple. He even felt his body fall to the floor, which was strange... but it also ant it wasn’t real. If soone had shot him in the temple, he would’ve died on the spot.
"Uh..." he let out another noise, snapping his eyes back to Atlas. The latter had his brows raised, blinking, a mix of curiosity and concern in his eyes. "Atlas, I needed..."
Again, Stephen trailed off, turning his head toward the glass wall. He gulped, afraid that what he had just imagined would co true. He knew people were always watching him. They would surely know if Stephen was about to talk to Atlas about what Slater had told him to do the night before.
"You needed... what?" Atlas asked, his voice tinged with impatience. He didn’t appreciate the suspense. "Uncle, please, if you have sothing to tell , say it now. Otherwise, I’ll have to leave. There’s still so work I have to do. Once you’re ready, my office is just above yours."
"Ahh... hehe." Stephen laughed awkwardly and nodded. "You’re right. I’ll co by your office once I rember what I planned to tell you."
Having said that, Stephen didn’t linger and hurriedly walked off as if he were running away from soone. Atlas frowned, watching his uncle leave, his deep frown deepening.
’I thought he stopped from leaving because he was unhappy with the project. Did he just say he forgot the reason he called ?’ Atlas wondered, convinced that sothing odd was going on with Stephen — it wasn’t just his imagination.
Slowly, Atlas turned his head to the glass wall of the conference room. After staring at it for a few seconds, he glanced toward the wall. Earlier, Stephen had been looking at both the glass wall and the natural wall. It made Atlas wonder why.
"From the way he looks, I thought he was looking at sothing," Atlas whispered to himself, pondering for a while before shrugging nonchalantly. "Never mind. He’s probably going to talk to about Sven."
Atlas couldn’t explain why Stephen was acting strange if not for Sven.
With that thought in mind, Atlas shrugged and resud his steps. He was the only one left in the conference room, which was rare. Usually, Atlas was the first to leave, but that didn’t bother him at all.
However, as Atlas stepped out of the conference room and headed for the elevator, he stopped when he heard soone whistling. Turning his head, he furrowed his brows when his gaze landed on the person standing behind the ergency exit door, the person’s head peeking out.
Stephen Bennet.
"What in the world?" Atlas whispered in disbelief, watching his uncle wave at him. "What is he doing?"
"Atlas, co here," Stephen called in a hushed voice, still waving his hand to make sure Atlas would get the ssage, even if he didn’t hear him. "I have sothing to tell you."
Atlas sighed faintly, glancing at the door before shifting his gaze back to where Stephen’s head was peeking. "Had he ever thought that my assistant almost died in the ergency exit?" Atlas wondered. He had been staying far away from any ergency exit as much as possible.
He could die in there, and no one might find his body until hours later.
Not to ntion, the person who did such a thing to Allen was none other than Sven, Stephen’s son. What made Stephen think Atlas would just walk up to him?
’It could be a trap,’ he thought. ’Even though I’m sure Uncle Stephen wouldn’t do that, he could’ve snapped.’
With all this uncertainty swirling in his mind, Atlas shook his head and carefully turned on his heel. Pretending he hadn’t seen Stephen hiding in the ergency exit, he resud his steps as if he hadn’t heard a word or seen anything.
"At—Atlas!" Stephen’s hushed call didn’t stop Atlas this ti, making Stephen panic in surprise. Seeing that Atlas was leaving without a word, Stephen quickly pushed open the door and stepped out of the ergency exit.
"Did he not see ?" Stephen wondered, gazing at his hand, which he had used to wave at Atlas to ensure the latter knew his intentions. "Or did he see it as chasing him away?"
Stephen’s face contorted at the thought, leaning toward the latter assumption. After all, Atlas sotis saw things differently. So, Stephen didn’t hesitate and was prompted to follow Atlas.
Fortunately, he caught up. Sliding his hand between the elevator doors, he smiled awkwardly as they parted again.
"Atlas," Stephen breathed out, walking into the elevator to join Atlas.
Atlas moved aside, glancing at his uncle but saying nothing. He simply pretended Stephen was a ghost, and ghosts were best left undisturbed.
"Atlas, didn’t you see earlier? I was calling for you."
"I did." Atlas’s voice was flat, keeping his eyes on the elevator door. "However, after what happened to Allen in the ergency exit, I decided to stay far away from it unless absolutely necessary. I’m sorry, Uncle, but I can’t just go into the ergency exit with just you and . I don’t feel safe."
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