Chapter 8 THE WOMAN WHO KNEW ME

ADRIAN POV

The screen remained unchanged, the light casting across my hand. 

ADRIAN KANE

ACCESS DATE: 3 YEARS AGO

I stared at it for another few seconds, waiting for something else to appear, probably a glitch or system update. 

Nothing did.

Rook leaned toward me. “You know, for someone who claims not to remember this place, you look like you’re about to interrogate the screen.”

“I’m trying to think here, Rook please.” I said out of frustration. 

“You’ve been thinking for five minutes,” he muttered, his arms folded across his chest. 

I ignored him entirely and looked back toward the hallway. The two men were gone. I didn’t even hear any footsteps or fading voices, so they left unnoticed. 

I checked the corridor one more time before slipping the Core into my inner coat jacket. “We’re leaving.”

Rook pushed himself away from the wall with an exaggerated lift of his shoulder. “Finally.”

I gave him a look that was cold and unblinking. 

He raised both hands in mock surrender, with a smirk behind his lips. “What? I’m just hungry.”

“You’re always hungry.”

“That’s because unlike you, I’m a normal person.”

The corner of my mouth lifted before I turned and followed him back through the passage we had come from. The facility felt different now. Not actually safer but quieter. 

Every few steps, I caught myself thinking about the name on that screen no matter how I tried controlling it. 

Three years ago. I should have remembered. I rarely forget things easily because I’m obviously very organized. 

But Site V-17 was hard to remember, especially where it happened. 

We reached the exit door, still not finding those men, until we finally stepped out. 

Outside, the cold evening air hit my face, like a splash of cold water. 

Rook stretched his arms over his head, his joint cracking faintly. 

“So,” he said, letting his hand drop to his side. “What now?”

“We go home.” 

He stopped in his tracks and stared at me. I stopped too, staring back at him.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” I narrowed my eyes slightly. 

“So Adrian, you mean after all this we went through, you just want to go home?” He stared long at me before continuing. “We’re going somewhere with music.”

“No.”

“Ok! Food.”

“No.” I moved forward. 

“Women.”

I stopped walking, fixing my gaze back at him. 

Rook grinned, his white teeth shining with the street light. “Got you.”

“I said no.”

“Huh? But why Adrian?”

“Isn’t my answer obvious.” I stood there, staring at him angrily. 

He laughed openly. “You know, Adrian, for someone who used to work around powerful people, you’re incredibly boring.”

I exhaled slowly ignoring him and started walking again.

Rook followed at my side sharply. “We are going.”

“N…O,” he cut me short before I could complete my words. 

“Too late,” he chuckled, as he tapped lightly against  my shoulder.

The nightclub was already crowded when we arrived, the iron door doing little to muffle the chaos inside. 

Music rolled through the building, low waves, heavy bass playing loudly enough to vibrate straight beneath my shoes. I immediately regretted coming. It was like passing through an assault because there were too many faces and noises. 

Rook, however, looked completely at home, moving his head to the rhythm. 

“This,” he announced, raising his voice slightly above the bass, “Is what normal people do after work.” 

“I’d rather sleep than spend my evening in a room full of noise,” I said, my eyes scanning the foyer.

He just scoffed. 

I bypassed the counter and chose a small space near the back wall, a spot where I could sit with my back protected and see almost the entire foyer. 

We ordered drinks from a passing server. Mine was a dark amber liquid and I barely touched it, just letting it rest above my palms. 

Rook took one sip of his golden wine and leaned back.

He looked at me, his playful smile fading slightly into something more thoughtful, and I didn’t understand why.

At least, he didn’t make another quick joke this time. 

The music changed into a soothing beat. A group of women moved to the dance floor, drawing cheers from the crowd.

Rook glanced over, his eyes tracking their movements before moving to me. “Now you’re going to tell me you don’t dance too.”

“I don’t.”

“Of course you don’t.”

“Do you?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. 

“Badly,” he admitted with an effortless grin. 

“At least you’re honest.”

We both laughed slightly. 

Shortly, another woman walked through the velvet curtain and stepped down onto the dance floor. 

She wasn’t dancing. She wasn’t trying to draw attention either. I noticed people moving  aside when she passed, clearing a clean path through the crowd. 

Also, when the bartender saw her, he immediately straightened his posture. She stopped beside one of the staff members and quietly said something. The girl nodded and hurried away.

Rook followed my gaze, his eyes narrowing slowly as he watched her. 

“Know her?”

“How will I?” I asked as my analytical eyes noted the control she held over her environment. 

“She’s the owner.”

I looked at him. “Thought as much.”

“This place belongs to Vivian Vance,” he said as he took a slow sip from his drink.

The name meant nothing to me at all. 

Rook set his glass down. “She’s apparently difficult to impress?”

Shocked, I looked back at her.

There was something unusual about her. Something that set her apart from everyone in the building. 

She wasn’t checking whether customers were enjoying themselves. She was studying them. Her eyes tracked who came through the front door and who left. 

I knew that look. It was the look of someone who collected information for a living. 

My hand instinctively moved toward the Core inside my coat, to track her rank but I stopped myself from removing it. This wasn’t a good place.

A few seconds later, two women from the dance floor approached our table, their laughter soft above the music. 

“Are you two new here?”

Rook glanced at me, a charming smile beaming on his face before answering. “First time.”

The woman’s smile widened. “Then you picked a good night to come.” 

Her friend standing beside her looked at me. “You’re very quiet.”

Before I could respond, her attention shifted past my shoulder. Her playful smile vanished from her face, replaced instantly by an expression of respect. “Boss.”

I turned my head slowly. Vivian was standing a few steps away from us. She looked at the two women first, her voice calm and full of control. “Everything alright here?” 

“Yes,” the employees answered sharply, shifting back with a slow pace. 

Vivian nodded. Then her eyes moved to me, without looking at Rook. 

But then I noticed something: Her facial expression didn't change, but her eyes did. Like she just recognized me. 

My fingers tightened around the glass, my pulse increasing.

“Vivian!” Rook called, but her eyes remained on mine.

This time, there was no doubt in my mind. She knew me.

And judging by the way she had suddenly gone quiet, she knew something about me that I didn’t know about her.