Anna blinked, genuinely caught off guard. For a brief second, her breath hitched as an uneasy thought crept in.
Did Kathrine find out?
Her mind raced, the idea absurd yet unsettling. The way Kathrine was looking at her now, sharp and observant, made Anna wonder if she had sohow sensed the truth of her rebirth and begun to question the changes she could no longer hide.
But the mont passed just as quickly.
Anna let out a small laugh and leaned back, waving a hand dismissively. "What, you think I got possessed or sothing?" she said lightly. "Relax. People do grow up, you know."
"But you grew up a little too fast for to keep up with," Kathrine said thoughtfully. "Is it because you married Daniel that you finally found your voice?"
The question made Anna shift on her seat, discomfort flickering across her face.
"Haha, very funny," Anna replied lightly, brushing it off.
Kathrine watched her for a few seconds, then looked away as if choosing her words.
"Still," she said, "I like this version of you. You finally stand up for yourself. You don’t let anyone bully you anymore."
Anna blinked at the unexpected praise. Kathrine was not the kind of person who handed out complints easily, which made the mont all the more startling.
"And you are being unusually kind to ," Anna said quietly, suddenly amused.
As she watched her sister, a realization settled in. Kathrine was different too.
She was no longer ignorant or self obsessed.
Kathrine looked at Anna, her words stirring sothing deep within her, but she chose not to voice it. Instead, she gave a small nod, her expression softening in quiet understanding.
"I’ve realized I was too ignorant about you," Kathrine admitted. "And I want to make up for my mistake of dragging you into sothing you were never ant to be part of." She gave a small shrug, her tone gentler than before.
Anna could see the guilt written clearly on her face. It was evident how heavily Kathrine carried the bla for putting her in trouble. Yet the more Anna thought about it, the more she questioned what kind of trouble it truly had been.
"You keep saying that," Anna said finally, her voice calm but curious, inviting her sister to explain.
"It’s true, Anna," Kathrine said softly, concern lacing her voice. "You were never ant to marry Daniel in the first place."
Anna’s fingers curled into her lap. She t her sister’s gaze steadily. "But I am married to him. And that brings back to what you said before." She paused, the mory tightening her chest. "Why would you say Daniel is dangerous?"
Kathrine did not answer right away. Her eyes drifted to the floor, then to the closed door, as though weighing what could be said and what must remain hidden.
"Because danger isn’t always loud," she said at last. "Sotis it wears calm like armor. Sotis it protects you so fiercely that you forget how sharp it is to everyone else."
Anna frowned.
"A man like Daniel doesn’t destroy things openly," Kathrine continued, her voice asured. "He erases them quietly. One step at a ti. And if you stand beside him, you are safe."
Her eyes lifted back to Anna’s.
"But if soone ever stands against him," she added, barely above a whisper, "they tend to disappear before anyone realizes a battle ever took place."
"And now you’re standing against him," Anna said quietly. "Am I right?"
The question landed heavier than Kathrine had expected. She looked at her sister, genuinely taken aback by the calm certainty in her voice. This was not an accusation. It was an observation.
For a mont, Kathrine said nothing. Her lips parted as if to respond, then closed again. Whatever answer she might have given remained unspoken.
Silence was all she offered.
And sohow, that silence told Anna everything.
***
anwhile, inside the office, after dealing with matters related to Fredrick Stewart, Daniel summoned Shawn to his room.
Shawn was still trying to get used to Daniel’s piercing stare. No matter how hard he tried to stay calm and collected, a trace of anxiety always managed to slip through. His shoulders stiffened the mont he stepped inside.
"Relax, you don’t need to worry," Henry murmured from the side, clearly amused. "He only looks like that when he’s deciding whether soone deserves coffee or therapy."
Shawn swallowed and shot Henry a look. That did not help.
Daniel was on a call however his eyes kept drifting back to the two n who were whispering sothing.
Shawn cleared his throat, straightening his posture as if that might sohow shield him from Daniel’s gaze. He took careful steps forward, every heartbeat sounding far louder in his own ears than it had any right to.
Henry leaned casually, arms crossed, thoroughly enjoying the show. "Trust ," he added cheerfully, "if you were in real trouble, you wouldn’t be standing here wondering about it."
That earned him another uneasy glance from Shawn.
Daniel finally looked up after ending the call, eyes settling on Shawn with quiet intensity. "Sit," he said simply.
Shawn obeyed imdiately, sitting a little too straight for comfort.
Henry grinned. "See? Still alive."
"I am sure Henry isn’t scaring you for nothing," Daniel said, shooting Henry a warning glance.
Henry imdiately straightened and shook his head, putting on the innocent expression of a man who had never caused trouble in his life.
"But," Daniel continued calmly, "I still want you to stay on your toes. Because whatever he says is usually true."
Shawn froze.
Henry nodded solemnly in agreent from the side.
Daniel closed the file he had been holding and leaned back slightly. "Anyway, let’s not scare you any further," he said. "I didn’t call you in to spike your nerves. I’d rather not upset my wife by intimidating one of her friends."
He reached for another file, pulled out a photograph, and slid it across the desk toward Shawn.
"Do you know this man?" Daniel asked quietly.
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