I knew it.
I knew it very well, from the moment I saw him. Something was off about him.
But why did I...? Why did I choose to believe in him? Why didn't I think he was lying all this time?
Go ask your old man about it? If he had sent me or not?
I just couldn't believe he said that so easily.
Varsha's mind had been in chaos since Saturday, the day she saw a woman at her school gate just after school hours ended.
Sara.
Varsha only knows one thing about that woman: she works for her dad. The moment Varsha saw Sara, her heart skipped a beat. She instantly thought that Sara was here for her, on her father's order.
Who knows? It could be anything.
But she didn't expect Paul—yes, him. He walked towards her, talked with her, went inside her car, and vanished.
After that, she didn't need anyone to tell her more. Everything started to make sense now: the way he talks, behaves, his actions—everything.
She understood now why he'd looked so calm while fighting that drunk man, why he'd called it a job, why he kept saying school didn't matter, why he talked about leaving everything behind like it was already decided, and why talking to her wasn't a waste of time.
That Paul fucking Vaxlar.
Her fingers tightened around the cold railing as she breathed out slowly.
I hate him.
I hate him so much.
"You look very rough. Are you okay?"
She snapped her head toward him, glare sharp enough to cut.
"Don't," she said, her voice cracking slowly. "Just don't."
"What?" Paul asked calmly.
She scoffed roughly. "You are very good at this, aren't you? Pretending everything is fine."
He stayed silent, just watching like he always does. But also because she deserves one at this moment.
Varsha snapped.
"Don't look at me like that!" Her voice started to rise. "Don't just stand there like you don't know shit about what I am talking about!"
He didn't move.
"You lied." She looked down at her trembling hands. "You are a liar, but I didn't want that. I wanted to believe you're like the rest of us—just a little weird, but... you are a..." Her voice started to fade.
Then her eyes shot up. "But you never were, were you? You are like them—my father, that bitch woman—who'll do anything in the name of a job."
Silence.
"You disgust me." Her eyes were red now. "You disgust me so much, not that you are connected with them, but that you never once thought of telling me, that I also deserve to know the truth."
Her chest tightened.
"Was I just an assignment to you?" she demanded. "An object you were tasked to keep watch on? Answer me! Is that everything there was?"
"Because of Alex," Paul answered calmly.
Her breath caught.
"What?" The words came out faintly.
Paul met her eyes for the first time. No excuse in his voice, just facts. "The only reason I'm here is all because of Alex."
Her anger started to take a different shape. That name carried more weight than she had imagined.
Her brother.
When was the last time she saw him?
How did Paul know about Alex?
"You are lying again," she said weakly.
That was a stupid thought. Paul obviously knows Alex because they work under the same name.
"Can you prove it?"
"Can I?" she thought to herself. The only answer that came back was, "I can't."
"But why?" She knew the answer very well, but she still persisted. She wanted to hear it out loud.
"Because he cares for you, that's why," Paul replied, giving her the answer she sought.
"He cares, yeah," she muttered faintly. "That's all he ever does — asking some nobodies to watch over me when he just vanished suddenly without telling me anything. He hasn't even called me once."
"He is busy."
Her eyes snapped open, focusing on him again. "You are telling me he is that busy? That he can't even call his own sister but has enough time to talk it over with you guys?"
"Nobody has heard from him since he left," Paul's voice softened. "No calls, not even a message. Your father also hasn't said anything about him."
"So basically, he's dead." She didn't know why she said that.
"He is alive, busy with his own work," Paul said. "That much I know very well."
She looked at him with increasing suspicion. Every word that spilled out of his mouth felt as though it were painted with lies. His way of talking had also changed a little.
"Why did he leave?" she asked sharply.
Paul waited a moment before answering, "I can't tell you if he doesn't choose to tell you himself."
She scoffed, looking away. Her anger had already started to cool down.
"If Alex hadn't asked you..." her head was still turned away, "would you still be here?"
"I have no reason to be," Paul answered cleanly. "I was doing this all because of him. If you don't want me here and go to another place, that's fine. If you hate me for lying to you, that's also fine."
"Because none of that matters. When he comes back, everything will be normal again."
"So are you basically saying you don't give a shit about what I think, right?" She turned back to him.
"Yeah."
That was the most honest reply she had heard from him, she felt.
"You deliberately called that bitch—woman to school, didn't you?"
"First of all, her name is Sara," Paul's words landed heavy on her chest. "I let it slide the first time, but don't ever call her that again. And yes, I did call her knowingly. I thought it was time you knew the truth."
*What is this?*
She had never seen him talk about someone like that. Sara must be important to him.
"Yeah, yeah, I get it," she said, lifting her hand from the railings. "You did a great job doing that."
She turned around to leave. "And I won't leave. I hate you, yeah, but you're not *that* disgusting, that I can't handle."
Paul didn't reply; he just watched her go inside.
…
Sara sat cross-legged in her bed. Her eyes moved to Julian, who stood lazily against the wall, and then to Simon, who sat calmly on the stool with his hands crossed.
'Why does the meeting have to happen in my room?' she thought.
"The hospital was a little weird," Sara finally spoke up.
No one reacted.
She sighed and continued, "Though I said it was weird, it actually wasn't. Everything was managed perfectly, from patient check-in to deliveries. But..." She slowed just a little. "No one even asked me why I was there. Obviously, I tried my best to keep it hidden, but anyone could have at least glanced at me."
"You didn't try talking with anyone?" Julian asked.
"No," she turned her head towards him, "why should I bother getting noticed?"
"Heh..." Julian leaned forward. "All I heard were the same answers, no matter what I asked."
"Four ships a day. Fixed routes. Ask about deaths, they blame the weather. Ask about inspections, they say paperwork. Ask about responsibility—," he looked up, "they pointed upwards."
"Honestly, I was getting headaches just from speaking to anyone."
"Didn't you ask, 'Upwards to whom'?" Sara asked.
"Of course, I did," Julian scoffed, "but no one answered directly, or they just didn't bother telling an outsider like me."
"Did you check with any Administrator?" Simon asked for the first time.
"Tomorrow," Julian blinked once. "Everyone told me to check there if I want to know more, but something told me I should wait."
Simon's head moved to Sara; her heart jumped once. "A locked door inside the pharmacy advisor's office. I didn't bother because it was locked with biometrics and a passcode."
"Sounds fishy," Julian muttered. "Could it be Alibaba's treasure?"
"You wish," Sara replied half-heartedly, "but I think it was something to do with medical deliveries. When I checked the computer, it always showed that all the items were approved by the same authority."
"Could be his dirty deeds," Sara added at the end.
Silence settled for a moment.
Sara's eyes stopped at Simon's neck. A gold chain. She hadn't noticed it before, and she also didn't expect Simon to like this kind of fancy stuff.
"The marketplace was also similar," Simon started his side of the story. "First, they deliberately ignored me, then later, they started calling out to me. The prices were also fixed."
Sara and Julian exchanged glances. Fixed prices?
"Only for me," Simon went on. "I talked with a guy. He explained that this works because people here want it. They treat every outsider like this."
"Too overconfident, if you ask me," Julian scoffed. "One bullet in their head, and all their dirty colors will start to pour out."
"Overconfident or not, if they let us walk away with what we need, it's enough," Simon said calmly. "Tomorrow will be the same. We'll pick up right where we left off."
Simon stood up slowly, then remembered something. "Also, don't take what they offer. If you ever feel like the person in front of you knows too much about you, step back."
Both noted this as a clear warning.
Simon exited the room. Julian stretched lazily. "My head hurts just from thinking about what I should ask tomorrow."
Sara slumped back on her bed. "You'll do just fine. You're very good at this anyway."
"Thanks for your kind words, My lady," Julian said, smiling, "but how about you also try talking to someone?"
"Maybe I will."
Julian glanced at her before leaving the room silently.