Night, California – 8:27 PM
The house felt quieter than usual after dinner.
Vanessa sat on the couch, tapping her nails against the glass table. The faint hum of the refrigerator filled the space. Elena rinsed the last dish, her movements steady but distant.
"You've changed," Vanessa said suddenly, breaking the silence.
Elena glanced over her shoulder. "Changed?"
"You sound more serious. Even the way you walk." Vanessa leaned back, smiling faintly. "California is doing things to you."
"I've been here for two years. Maybe I grew up."
Vanessa chuckled. "Or maybe Stone Enterprise finally drained your humor."
Elena dried her hands and joined her sister in the living room. "It's work, not a personality transplant."
Vanessa studied her quietly. There was something in her sister's tone she hadn't heard before. It wasn't exhaustion. It was restraint.
"You like it there?" Vanessa asked.
Elena hesitated. "It's challenging."
"That means you like it."
A soft laugh slipped from Elena before she shook her head. "It means it's complicated."
Outside, a car passed, its headlights cutting briefly through the blinds. Vanessa's phone buzzed on the table. She glanced at the screen, her fingers still for a moment before she flipped the phone face down.
Elena noticed but said nothing.
"You okay?" Elena asked finally.
"Yeah," Vanessa said too quickly. "Just jet lag."
"You flew across states to surprise me. You sure that's all?"
Vanessa smiled, but her eyes flicked toward the dark window. "It's been a while since I saw you, that's all."
The room fell quiet again.
Elena stretched slightly, rubbing her shoulder. "I need to check something for work before bed."
"Always working," Vanessa teased.
Elena offered a tired smile and disappeared down the hall.
The moment her door closed, Vanessa exhaled, her hand reaching for the phone she had turned over earlier. She unlocked it. One unread message.
Cory: "I'm outside."
Her pulse jumped. She grabbed her jacket, hesitating for a second before slipping it on and heading for the door.
---
9:02 PM – Maple Street
The road was empty except for the steady hum of a streetlight above. Its pale glow spread across the asphalt, broken only by the shadows of parked cars.
Cory leaned against his black sedan, one hand in his pocket, phone in the other. He looked up as Vanessa approached.
"You're late," he said.
"You texted ten minutes ago," she replied.
He smirked faintly. "Still late."
Vanessa stopped a few feet from him, folding her arms. "What are you doing here?"
"I wanted to see you."
"After all this time?"
Cory shrugged. "California isn't that far when I want something."
Her lips curved, but her eyes didn't soften. "You mean when you want someone."
He didn't deny it. The silence stretched. The sound of a distant car faded into the night.
"You're staying with her," Cory said finally. "Elena."
"Yes."
He studied her face. "Does she know?"
"Of course not."
Cory's gaze flicked toward the faintly lit windows of Elena's apartment. "Keep it that way."
Vanessa frowned. "You make it sound like something's going on."
He stepped closer. "Isn't there?"
Her breath caught. The distance between them vanished with the weight of his stare.
"Don't look at me like that," she whispered.
He smiled. "You knew I would."
Vanessa glanced away, heart thudding. "I shouldn't have come."
"Yet you did."
She didn't answer. The sound of the streetlight buzzed faintly above them.