The hospital records room smelled like stale paper and secrets. Old fluorescent lights buzzed overhead as Kevin flipped through file after file invoices, donation records, confidential letters Matt had quietly printed from her father's locked drive.
Matt sat across the table, her sleeves rolled up, hair pulled into a messy bun. She looked exhausted dark circles under her eyes, fingers stained with ink. But every so often, she'd glance at Kevin, searching his face for a flicker of warmth.
Sometimes, he gave it to her. Sometimes, he let her see the version of him that still seemed fragile and broken. The version that made her heart ache.
Inside, though, Kevin was anything but broken. Inside, something colder had begun to grow.
He'd buried Emily two days ago. He'd stood over her grave and made her a silent promise: I'll make them pay. Every last one of them.
At first, he hadn't known what to do with Matt the nurse who'd given him hope, the daughter of the monster who'd killed that hope. But now, sitting across from her in the dim back office, he saw exactly what she was.
A crack in the Holloway fortress. An open door.
And she was looking at him like she wanted to be forgiven. Like she needed it.
So Kevin decided to give her what she wanted and take everything else from her too.
Matt nudged a folder toward him. "These are the vendor kickbacks look. Donations were rerouted as 'consulting fees.' It's fraud, plain and simple."
Kevin forced a tired smile, leaning closer so their shoulders brushed. "And you're really ready to destroy your own father for this?"
Matt's eyes darted away. "I'm ready to do what's right. Even if it means losing everything."
Kevin studied her. The little tremor in her voice. The way she wouldn't quite meet his gaze. She'd grown up under Richard Holloway's shadow her whole life begging for scraps of approval, only to see who he really was when it mattered most.
She was alone now. And he was her only anchor.
Perfect.
He reached out, brushing her hand. Matt froze, startled. Kevin gave her the softest smile he could summon. "Hey. Thank you. For fighting for her. For me."
Her eyes glistened. She blinked fast and looked down, but didn't pull her hand away. "I just… I wish I'd done more. I wish I'd seen it sooner."
"You're doing enough now," Kevin whispered.
He watched her the way her breath caught, the way her shoulders eased just a fraction under his touch. He could see the hope flickering behind her guilt the foolish hope that maybe, somehow, he could care about her too.
He let his thumb trace a gentle circle over her knuckles.
Inside, his thoughts were ice. Let her trust you. Let her fall deeper. And when her father is finished, when the papers hit the news, when the Holloway name is dust break her too.
"Kevin…" Matt breathed, her voice so quiet he almost missed it. "I know this doesn't fix what happened. But maybe maybe after this, we can find a way to"
He cut her off with a soft hush, brushing a strand of hair from her face. "One step at a time, Matt."
He leaned in. Close enough to feel her warmth, close enough to see how badly she wanted to believe he could forgive her.
Then he pulled back just enough to keep her wanting more. "First, we finish this," he murmured. "Then we figure out the rest."
Matt nodded, looking like she might shatter if he pulled away completely. "Okay."
Kevin closed the folder, his mind already racing through the next moves. Richard Holloway was a monster but Matt was the real key. The weak link. The fool who thought a little kindness could erase betrayal.
He would give her what she wanted. The illusion of love. The promise of absolution.
And when it was over when Richard was ruined, when the world saw the Holloway name for what it really was he'd make sure Matt knew exactly what it felt like to lose everything too.
Outside, the city lights flickered beyond the hospital windows.
Inside, Kevin slipped his mask back on, wearing it like armor.
I'm coming for you all, he thought.
No mercy. No forgiveness.