Chapter 4 Shadows in the Office

Delphine paused at the office door before entering, gripping her bag tighter than necessary. Wilson's voice came from inside, calm but sharp, "You're five minutes late. That is not like you." She stepped in quickly, forcing a steady tone, "Traffic was heavier than usual." His eyes lifted slowly, studying her. "Or something kept you out longer than you're saying."

Delphine dropped her bag beside the desk, trying to ignore the tightening in her chest. "Are you interrogating me now?" she asked, half nervous, half defensive. Wilson leaned back slightly in his chair. "I'm assessing patterns. That's what good lawyers do." She frowned, "And what pattern do you see in me?" He didn't answer immediately, which made her more uncomfortable than words could have.

Wilson finally said, "A woman who is being followed and still insists on walking alone at night." Delphine stiffened instantly. "You don't know that," she replied quickly. He tilted his head slightly. "Then explain the message you tried to hide yesterday." Silence fell between them, heavy and immediate, as her pulse began to rise.

Delphine exhaled slowly, forcing control into her voice. "So you did see it." Wilson stood up, walking closer to her desk. "I see everything that matters in my office." She swallowed, refusing to step back even though his presence was overwhelming. "Then tell me what it means," she asked, "because I'm starting to think I walked into something bigger than a job."

Wilson stopped just beside her chair, his voice lowering. "You didn't walk into it. You were already inside it." Delphine frowned, "Inside what exactly?" He didn't answer right away, only watching her like he was deciding how much truth she could survive. Then he said quietly, "That depends on who is trying to reach you."

Delphine's phone vibrated sharply on the desk, cutting through the air between them. She hesitated before picking it up, her fingers tightening around it. Wilson didn't move, but his eyes sharpened instantly. "Open it," he said calmly. She obeyed slowly, her breath catching as she read the message.

A new message appeared with no number attached. Only five words.

"You should have listened to him."

Delphine froze. "Who is him?" she whispered. Wilson's expression didn't change, but something in his gaze hardened. "Put the phone down," he said quietly. She looked at him sharply, "No. I deserve answers." He stepped closer again, voice controlled but lower, "Not all answers are safe for you right now."

Delphine stood up abruptly, frustration breaking through her fear. "Then stop talking in riddles, Wilson. Someone is clearly targeting me." He didn't deny it. That silence alone made her stomach tighten. Instead, he said softly, "Sit down before you make a mistake you cannot undo." But she didn't move.

Delphine's voice came out sharper than she expected as she stepped closer to Wilson's desk. "So what you're saying is someone inside this building is watching me?" Wilson didn't deny it. He only replied calmly, "I'm saying someone here knows more about you than you think." She narrowed her eyes. "That sounds like a very dangerous assumption." He answered quietly, "It's not an assumption."

Delphine folded her arms tightly, trying to control her breathing. "Then tell me the truth, Wilson. Why would anyone in your firm care about me?" Wilson's gaze stayed fixed on her. "That's the part you're not ready to hear." She shook her head slightly. "I don't like being kept in the dark." He stepped closer, voice lowering, "And I don't like you being exposed."

Her pulse tightened at his words and she quickly replied, "Exposed to what exactly?" Wilson hesitated for the first time, then said slowly, "To something that started long before you walked into this office." Delphine frowned. "That's not an answer." He looked at her more directly now. "It's the only warning you need right now."

Before she could respond, her phone vibrated again on the desk. Delphine didn't move immediately. Wilson noticed. "Open it," he said quietly. She hesitated. "What if it's another threat?" Wilson replied without looking away from her, "Then I need to see it too." Slowly, she picked it up, her fingers trembling slightly.

Delphine read the message and her breath stopped for a second. "It says I shouldn't be here alone with you," she whispered. Wilson's expression didn't change, but his voice dropped lower. "That message is not wrong." She looked up instantly. "Excuse me?" He stepped slightly closer. "You heard me."

Delphine took a step back, her voice rising slightly. "So now you're part of the threat too?" Wilson shook his head once. "No. I'm part of the reason you're still safe." She frowned deeply. "That doesn't make any sense." He replied calmly, "It will when you understand who is behind this."

Delphine's breathing became uneven as she looked at him. "Why does it feel like you already know who it is?" Wilson didn't answer immediately. That silence alone made her stomach tighten. Finally, he said, "Because I've seen this pattern before." She stepped forward again. "Seen it where?"

Wilson's eyes darkened slightly. "In any case I should have never taken it." Delphine went still. "So this is about your past?" she asked carefully. He nodded once. "And now it's touching your present." She whispered, "And I'm in the middle of it." Wilson replied quietly, "Yes. And that is exactly why I told you not to ignore the messages."

Suddenly, the office lights flickered once again. Delphine turned sharply. "Did you see that?" she asked quickly. Wilson's voice became more controlled. "Yes. And it's not a coincidence." She backed away slightly. "Then what is it?" He didn't answer immediately. Instead, his eyes shifted toward the glass door.

Delphine followed his gaze. "What are you looking at?" Wilson said quietly, "Someone is outside." Her body stiffened immediately. "Outside the office?" she asked. Wilson nodded slightly. "And they are not walking away." Her voice dropped. "How do you know that?" He answered simply, "Because I can feel them watching."

Delphine whispered, "This is insane." Wilson stepped closer to her again, voice firm now. "Stay behind me." She shook her head slightly. "I don't need protection." He looked at her directly. "This is not about what you need. It's about what you cannot survive alone."

At that exact moment, the office door handle began to move slowly from the outside. Delphine froze instantly.

"Wilson..." she whispered. He didn't move. "Don't speak," he said quietly. The handle turned again, more deliberately this time, as if whoever was outside knew they were already being watched.

Delphine's voice barely came out. "Who is it?" Wilson's answer was low, controlled, and final. "Someone who should not know I'm here with you." The handle stopped turning.

A silence fell between them, heavy and unnatural, as if even the air inside the office had stopped moving. Delphine's lips parted slightly but no words came out, because something about the atmosphere had shifted in a way she could not explain. Then, from outside the glass door, a voice broke through the stillness, soft but clear enough to freeze everything inside her chest. "Wilson... I know she's with you."

Delphine's body reacted before her mind could catch up, her fingers tightening instinctively against the edge of the desk as the words sank in. Her throat went dry instantly, and she turned her head slowly toward Wilson, searching his face for confusion or denial. But what she saw instead made her stomach drop even further, because he wasn't startled, he wasn't questioning it, he was simply still, like the voice had already reached somewhere inside him before it even spoke again.

Wilson's expression changed in a way Delphine had never seen before, not fear, not shock, but something deeper that made her breath catch without permission. "That voice..." she whispered without thinking, but Wilson didn't answer her, his gaze fixed on the door like he was measuring something only he could see. The silence that followed was no longer empty, it was loaded, like the entire room was holding its breath with them, waiting for what would come next.

Delphine forced herself to speak again, though her voice came out thinner than she intended. "Wilson... who is that?" she asked, but even as she said it, she realized he wasn't looking at the door anymore. He was looking at her. And in that moment, she understood something she didn't want to understand, because whatever was outside that door wasn't just looking for him anymore, it was looking for both of them.

And then Wilson finally spoke, but his voice was lower now, controlled, almost dangerous in its calmness. "Don't move," he said quietly, not taking his eyes off her. "Whatever happens next... stay exactly where you are."