Chapter 3 Once Again...

{Anya}

"Liam"

The same Liam I had just run into. The same one who had flirted so casually, who had watched me just a little too closely.

A sickening realization slithered through me. The room felt smaller, the walls pressing in. Everything was connected. David's attack. Alexander Cain. Vincent Carlisé's release.

And now, Liam.

It wasn't just that I had met him. It was how I met him. Colliding. Like we were meant to. Like the universe had forced it. The newspaper felt heavy in my hands, the ink smudging slightly beneath the press of my fingertips.

I stole a glance at my mother. She was staring at nothing, her hands wrapped around the now-lukewarm coffee I had brought her. Worry lined her face, her lips pressed together in silent prayers she wouldn't dare say out loud.

I forced myself to exhale, steadying my heartbeat with the kind of control I usually reserved for high-stress interviews. My mother didn't need more to worry about. David was her focus, as he should be. My panic had no place here. But my gut refused to settle.

The attack wasn't random. David had said it himself. It was about Alexander Cain. Which meant it had been about power, about money, about something far beyond a kidnapping gone wrong. And if Liam Carlisé was here, hovering around this hospital, bumping into me with that easy smirk and effortless charm-

He was here for a reason. I'd come to find out that before our second meeting, Liam had already done his homework. He had gone looking. Maybe out of morbid curiosity, or a subtle pass time. My name, first. A few subtle questions, a glance at the hospital's visitor logs, a well-placed favor from a nurse who didn't mind-bend the rules for a charming smile. It wasn't hard. People wanted to talk, and Liam had a talent for making them.

Then came the connections. My last name. The same as the man in the ICU from helping Alexander. That's when everything clicked. So, when he saw me again, looking at him with suspicion in my sharp eyes, he wasn't surprised.

I moved on autopilot, stepping out of the waiting area, down the elevator, and into the hall where we had just met. I needed to find him. The coincidences were stacking up too high, and I wasn't in the mood to be buried beneath them. After fruitlessly searching the lower floors, he appeared before me once again, unexpected.

Standing by the vending machines near the emergency exit, Liam looked every bit like a man who had nowhere better to be. He leaned against the machine, hands in his pockets, expression unreadable. His earthy hair slightly tousled, as if he'd run his fingers through it too many times, and he looked... Relaxed.

Like he wasn't related to a man recently released from prison. Like he wasn't tangled up in a mess I didn't even fully understand yet. His eyes met mine the second I stepped into view. He took a couple to recollect my face, as if the recognition came barely a moment after, then that damn smirk returned.

"You again," he mused, pushing off the machine. "Are you perhaps following me?"

I stopped a few feet away, crossing my arms. "Suspicious. I was about to say the same to you."

His smile didn't fade, but something in his eyes shifted. Sharpened.

"Suspicious?" That's a strong word for someone who just met me."

"You were in that photo with Vincent Carlisé." I didn't phrase it as a question. I didn't need to. Liam let out a slow breath, like I had just confirmed something for him, too.

"Hoh, I don't see why that would grant me a visit from you so soon. I'm flattered, regardless."

I ignored the jab. "What are you doing here?" He watched me for a beat longer than I was comfortable with. Then he sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Would you believe me if I said it was just a coincidence?"

"No."

A chuckle rumbled from his chest. "Didn't think so... but it was. I'm here with my uncle, he's getting a checkup, you know? Cause the elderly need those."

"Then why did you leave his side?"

"I just can't stand him most times, I guess?"

I waited as the silence stretched. He let it. Then, finally, he shifted, his smirk softening just slightly.

"My uncle is out," he said, "That means a lot of things." I know what you're thinking. That I'm here because of him. That I'm involved in whatever happened to your brother." He exhaled sharply. "I'm not."

Just how did he find out about that? My fingers twitched at my sides. "Then what are you doing here?"

"Let's just say... I have my own reasons for keeping an eye on Alexander Cain, nothing to worry your pretty little head over."