Chapter 19: Chapter Eighteen: Interruption

The noise of the expo felt different when they stepped back out. Louder. Not because it had changed But because Rowan had. Every booth felt layered now. Every conversation slightly off. Every interaction carrying something just beneath the surface.

Jess stayed close beside her.

“Okay,” she muttered, scanning the room. “Yep. Still weird.”

Rowan almost smiled.

“Good,” she said quietly. “Means I’m not imagining it.”

Jess didn’t answer right away.

Her attention shifted instead, tracking something across the aisle.

“…There,” Jess said under her breath.

Rowan followed her gaze.

A man stood near one of the larger booths, speaking with a vendor. Nothing about him stood out at first glance. Well dressed. Composed. Still. But there was something about the way he held himself. Too still. Too aware. Rowan’s focus sharpened.

“That’s him,” she said quietly.

Jess didn’t look at her.

“I figured.”

They didn’t move closer.

Didn’t retreat.

Just watched.

For a moment, it almost looked like nothing. Like he hadn’t noticed them. Like they were just two more people in a crowded room. Then he turned. Not abruptly. Not reactively. Deliberately. His gaze landed on Rowan. Not searching. Not questioning. Certain. Rowan felt it immediately. Not pressure. Not like Malric. Something quieter. Sharper. Like being seen in a way that went past surface.

Her chest tightened slightly.

“…He’s coming this way,” Jess said.

Rowan didn’t move.

“Let him.”

Jess glanced at her.

“That’s confidence I’m not sure you’ve earned yet.”

Rowan ignored that.

The man crossed the distance without rushing. No hesitation. No wasted movement. People shifted around him without noticing they were doing it.

By the time he stopped in front of them, the noise of the room felt… distant.

Contained.

“Rowan Vance.”

It wasn’t a question.

Rowan held his gaze.

“Yes.”

Jess’s head snapped slightly toward her.

“You’re just confirming that?” she muttered.

Rowan didn’t break eye contact.

The man’s expression didn’t change.

“Good,” he said.

Jess blinked.

“Okay, I’m going to need literally any explanation right now,” she said.

His attention shifted to Jess for the first time. Measured. Brief. Assessing. Then back to Rowan.

“You’ve been busy,” he said.

Rowan’s jaw tightened.

“You’ve been watching.”

“Observing,” he corrected calmly.

Jess let out a short, disbelieving breath.

“Oh, that’s better.”

Rowan ignored her.

“Who are you?” she asked. A pause. Not because he didn’t have an answer. Because he was deciding how much to give.

“Corvin,” he said.

Just that. No explanation. Of course not. Rowan crossed her arms slightly.

“Okay, Corvin,” she said. “You’ve got about thirty seconds before I decide this conversation is a bad idea.”

Jess nodded immediately.

“Strong agree.”

Something shifted in his expression. Not amusement. Recognition.

“You’ve already made several bad decisions,” he said evenly. “Walking away now won’t correct them.”

Rowan didn’t flinch.

“Then start talking.”

A brief silence settled between them.

Corvin’s gaze held hers, steady and unreadable.

“You interfered with something you don’t understand,” he said.

Rowan let out a quiet breath.

“Yeah,” she said. “I’m getting that impression.”

Jess looked between them.

“Are we still being vague on purpose, or is this just how you talk?”

Neither of them answered her.

Rowan tilted her head slightly.

“You know about the emails,” she said.

“Yes.”

“You know about the files.”

“Yes.”

“And you know about him.”

That was the first time something in Corvin’s expression sharpened.

Slightly.

Precisely.

“Malric,” he said.

Jess stiffened.

“Okay, I don’t like that you both said that name like it means something.”

Rowan didn’t look away from Corvin.

“He came to my room,” she said.

“I’m aware.”

Jess stared at her.

“I’m sorry, he what?”

Rowan kept going.

“He said I signed something.”

Corvin’s gaze didn’t shift.

“You did.”

Rowan’s jaw tightened.

“I don’t remember.”

“You weren’t meant to.”

That landed harder than anything else he’d said.

Jess pushed off slightly from where she stood.

“Okay, no,” she said. “We’re not just accepting that sentence and moving on.”

Corvin’s attention flicked to her again.

Not dismissive. But not concerned either.

“Your involvement is incidental,” he said.

Jess blinked.

“…I’m sorry, what?”

Rowan’s expression hardened instantly.

“She’s not incidental,” she said.

A pause.

Something recalculated behind Corvin’s eyes.

“Noted,” he said.

Jess narrowed her eyes.

“I don’t like him.”

“Not relevant,” Corvin replied calmly.

“Very relevant,” Jess shot back.

Rowan stepped forward slightly.

“Why are you here?” she asked.

This time, he didn’t delay.

“Because you made yourself visible,” he said.

Rowan felt that settle.

Cold.

Clear.

“And now?” she asked.

Corvin studied her for a moment longer.

Long enough to feel intentional.

“Now,” he said, “you’re a problem.”

Jess let out a quiet laugh.

“Oh, good. Love that for us.”

Rowan didn’t react.

“Then why warn me?” she asked.

Another pause.

Smaller this time.

More precise.

“Because,” Corvin said, voice lower now, “if he moves next, you won’t see it coming.”

That hit.

Jess went still.

Rowan’s gaze didn’t waver.

“And you will?” she asked.

Corvin held her eyes.

“Yes.”

Silence stretched.

Not empty.

Weighted.

Jess shifted slightly.

“…I’m still unclear on why we trust you,” she said.

Corvin didn’t look at her.

“You shouldn’t,” he said.

Honest.

Flat.

Unbothered.

Rowan exhaled slowly.

“That’s helpful,” she said.

“It’s accurate.”

Another pause.

Then Rowan straightened slightly.

“Okay,” she said. “Then here’s where we are.”

Corvin didn’t interrupt.

“I’m not working for him,” she said. “Not anymore.”

“No,” Corvin agreed. “You’re not.”

Jess glanced at her.

“…That sounded like a promotion.”

Rowan ignored that.

“And I’m not working for you either,” she added.

For the first time, something almost like interest flickered in Corvin’s expression.

“I didn’t ask you to,” he said.

Rowan held his gaze.

“Good.”

Another silence.

Then Corvin stepped back.

Not retreating.

Just… ending it.

“For now,” he said.

Jess blinked.

“That’s it? That’s the conversation?”

Corvin’s attention lingered on Rowan for one last moment. Measured. Deliberate.

“Stay where people can see you,” he said.

Then he turned. And walked away. Just like that. Jess stared after him.

“…Well,” she said slowly, “that was the most unsettling calm person I’ve ever met.”

Rowan didn’t answer right away. Her focus stayed where he had been. Where he had stood. Where he had looked at her like he already knew how this would end.

“…He’s not wrong,” she said quietly.

Jess looked at her.

“About what?”

Rowan’s grip tightened slightly around the coffee cup.

“We didn’t stop anything,” she said.

Jess followed her gaze back out across the floor.

“Yeah,” she said. “I’m starting to get that feeling too.”

Neither of them spoke for a moment.

Because now the room didn’t just feel wrong. It felt active. Watching. Waiting. And somewhere in the crowd something had already noticed That Rowan wasn’t playing along anymore.