I decided to go for a walk to clear my mind and think well about who could be spying on me too.
I was still standing in the doorway like a dog who's lost his way back.
Matteo Vanelli was leaning against the frame, all casual and unreadable, like he hadn't just shown up out of no where in front of my dorm.
"What do you want?" I asked, instantly regretting how shaky my voice sounded.
He tilted his head, a small smile playing on his lips. "Is that how you greet your classmates? I'm hurt."
I stepped back slowly and crossed my arms, trying to seem normal. (Spy lesson #1: Never let them see you sweat.)
"You followed me," I said.
"I walked," he corrected.
"To my dorm?" I raised an eyebrow.
He shrugged. "Campus is small. I was nearby."
Sure, because everyone just happens to be outside their classmate's dorm at 9 p.m. looking like a shadow come to life.
"Are you gonna let me in?" he asked.
"Are you gonna murder me?" I shot back, only halfway joking.
He laughed. Actually laughed. And something about it made me feel… weirdly safe. I hated that. He should've made me nervous. But he didn't. Not exactly. He felt like one of those riddles that hides an answer in plain sight.
"I'm here to make sure you're okay," he said, quieter now. "You left pretty fast."
So he had noticed.
I hesitated, then stepped aside and let him in. The dorm was still empty, Lani, Reece, and Gabi were probably off at some event I forgot about.
Matteo didn't sit. He stood near the window, looking out through the blinds like he wasn't sure he should be here either.
"You have a weird way of showing concern," I said, dropping onto my bed.
He glanced back at me. "There's a lot about me that's weird."
I snorted. "At least you admit it."
A pause.
"You shouldn't have gone to the house," he said suddenly.
My whole body stiffened. "What do you mean?"
He turned around, his face still calm, but his voice was different now. Serious. Low. "It's not safe. Not for people like you."
People like me?
"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked, trying to keep my tone flat.
Matteo didn't answer right away. He walked over and leaned against the wall across from me, arms crossed, eyes locked on mine.
"You ask too many questions," he said. "You notice things. That makes you… interesting."
That word again. Interesting. Why did it sound more like a threat than a compliment?
"I'm just trying to survive college," I said quickly.
"Are you?" he asked. "Because it looks more like you're investigating something."
For a second, I couldn't breathe.
What did he know?
I forced a laugh. "What, like I'm a secret agent or something?"
He didn't laugh back.
Another pause.
"I don't know what you're looking for," he said finally. "But if you keep poking around, someone's going to notice."
I stared at him. "Like you?"
He nodded once. "Exactly like me."
We stared at each other for a few seconds. It felt like a test. And I didn't know if I passed or failed, but my heart was beating way too fast either way.
Then, just like that, he pushed off the wall and walked toward the door.
"Matteo—" I started, but he cut me off.
"Goodnight, Samantha."
And he was gone.
I sat there for like five whole minutes just trying to figure out what that was. He hadn't confirmed anything. But he hadn't denied anything either. And the way he talked... he knew more than he was saying. Maybe he wasn't the one who stole the artifact. But he definitely knew something about it.
And that made things even more complicated.
I was supposed to figure out which Vanelli brother was hiding the truth. But what if the real problem wasn't which one? What if all three were involved?
The next morning was aggressively normal. Like, cereal crumbs on the floor, someone yelling in the hallway, and me pretending I hadn't just had a mini spy breakdown the night before.
Classes were a blur, mostly because I kept thinking about Matteo's words. My professor could've been giving out money and I wouldn't have noticed.
By lunchtime, I was basically functioning on autopilot. I was walking across the quad toward the cafeteria when I heard someone shout, "Yo! Spy Barbie!"
I groaned before I turned around.
Ryles Vanelli.
Wearing a bomber jacket, dark sunglasses (even though it was cloudy), and holding a smoothie in a cup.
"You called me Spy Barbie?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
He grinned. "What? It fits. You've got the 'don't talk to me' face, the boots, and the attitude."
"Maybe I just don't like people."
"Or maybe you're just pretending not to," he said, walking beside me.
"Are you following me too?" I asked, more annoyed than surprised.
"Hey, it's a public sidewalk. Unless your agency owns it or something."
I froze. "What?"
He smirked. "Relax. I'm kidding. Mostly."
I stared at him. He was messing with me. Probably. But something about the way he said "agency" made me want to scream.
"You're weird," I muttered.
He took a sip of his smoothie. "You're welcome."
Ryles kept pace with me all the way to the cafeteria, cracking dumb jokes and throwing out weird facts, Like, what was I supposed to do with those information?
But somewhere in between the chaos of his energy and the distrust I had for these brothers, I laughed.
A real laugh.
And that scared me more than anything else.
Because I wasn't supposed to like any of them.
Not Ryles.
Not Matteo.
And definitely not Cassien.
Later that night, I logged into the RedHalo interface again. No new messages. No new files.
Just silence.
The kind that makes you think someone's waiting for you to mess up again.
I stared at the screen for a long time, then typed a single line into the notes section:
Matteo knows something.
Maybe everything.
And then, even though I knew it was a terrible idea, I added:
Also… why is Ryles kind of funny???
I hit save.
Closed the screen.
And braced myself.
Because something told me what's going to happen next wasn't going to be as "normal" as the beginning.
Not even close.