The words center of everything trying to correct itself did not leave Selina's mind.
Even as she stood there.
Even as Lucian said nothing more.
Even as the silence between them stretched into something that no longer felt like emptiness—but pressure.
Selina slowly turned away from him.
Not because she was done listening.
But because staying still felt like agreeing.
And she wasn't ready for that yet.
"I need space to think," she said quietly.
Lucian didn't stop her.
He rarely did when she asked for distance.
But his voice followed her anyway.
"Thinking will not change what is already in motion."
Selina paused at the edge of the room.
That sentence should have irritated her.
It should have sounded arrogant.
Controlling.
Absurd.
Instead—
it only made her more aware of how calm he was while saying it.
She didn't turn back.
"I'll decide that myself," she said.
A brief silence.
Then Lucian replied—
"I know."
That answer made her stop for half a second.
Not because it surprised her.
But because it didn't fit the argument.
He wasn't trying to win.
He wasn't trying to convince.
He was simply stating reality as if her resistance was already accounted for.
Selina left the room.
The door closed softly behind her.
Vale Mansion – Night Corridor
The Vale mansion felt different at night.
During the day, it was controlled elegance.
At night, it became something quieter.
Hollow, almost.
Selina walked through the corridor alone, her steps steady but her thoughts anything but.
Everything she had heard replayed again.
Timeline… correction… divergence… center of everything…
None of it should have been possible.
And yet—
Lucian had not once spoken like a man guessing.
That was what disturbed her the most.
Not the content.
But the certainty.
A servant passed her quickly and bowed.
"Miss Selina."
She nodded once without stopping.
But as she moved forward, she noticed something unusual.
Two guards stationed near the main hall.
That was not normal.
Selina slowed slightly.
Her eyes narrowed.
Something was happening.
And she hadn't been informed.
She turned toward the study wing instead.
Vale Study Hall
Damian Vale stood at the head of the table again.
But this time, the atmosphere was different.
Tighter.
More controlled.
Livia sat still, her expression unreadable.
Rowan leaned slightly forward, tense.
Elara stood near the window again—but not relaxed.
Alert.
Selina entered without hesitation.
This time, Damian looked up immediately.
"Selina," he said.
There was something sharper in his tone than before.
Not anger.
Concern disguised as authority.
"What is going on?" Selina asked directly.
No greetings.
No hesitation.
Silence followed.
Then Damian placed a document on the table.
Selina walked closer and picked it up.
Her eyes scanned it quickly.
Financial anomalies.
Internal restructuring.
Blackwood-linked transactions.
But something was wrong.
These weren't just corrections.
They were reversals.
Selina frowned slightly.
"This doesn't match my analysis," she said.
Rowan looked at her.
"That's because it isn't based on your analysis anymore," he replied.
Selina's gaze shifted.
"What do you mean?"
Damian answered this time.
"Blackwood Enterprises has begun adjusting outcomes independently."
A pause.
Selina's fingers tightened slightly on the paper.
"…Adjusting outcomes?"
Elara finally spoke, voice quieter than usual.
"Every prediction you made… has started changing after being submitted."
Silence.
Selina slowly lowered the document.
"That's not possible unless someone is modifying data after submission."
Damian's gaze held hers.
"That is what we believe."
Selina exhaled slowly.
"And you think I'm responsible for that?"
"No," Damian said immediately.
A pause.
Then more carefully—
"But you are connected to the chain that triggered it."
That sentence landed differently.
Not accusation.
But implication.
Selina turned slightly away from the table.
Lucian's words returned.
You are the center of everything trying to correct itself.
Her expression tightened slightly.
"So now what?" she asked.
Damian answered without hesitation.
"You will reduce all external involvement with Blackwood-linked analysis until we understand what is happening."
Silence.
Selina looked at him.
Then slowly—
"No."
That one word shifted the room.
Rowan straightened slightly.
Elara's eyes narrowed faintly.
Damian's expression darkened.
"This is not negotiable," he said.
Selina placed the document back on the table.
"You're not removing me," she said calmly. "You're removing access to information I'm already processing faster than your system can react to."
Silence.
That was not arrogance.
It was fact.
And they all knew it.
Damian's jaw tightened slightly.
"This is for your safety."
Selina's eyes flickered slightly.
"Or for your uncertainty?"
That question lingered.
No one answered immediately.
Because it was too accurate.
Too direct.
Finally, Selina stepped back.
"I will continue my analysis," she said. "With or without approval."
Damian's voice lowered.
"Selina—"
But she was already turning away.
Vale Mansion Garden – Later
Night air was colder outside.
Selina stood beneath the dim garden lights, the mansion behind her glowing softly like a sealed world.
Her mind was not calm.
It was calculating.
If Blackwood was altering outcomes…
If Lucian was not reacting but anticipating…
Then nothing she was seeing was fixed.
Everything was responding.
To her.
Or around her.
A soft sound behind her made her turn slightly.
No one was there.
But on the stone bench—
an envelope.
No seal.
No sender.
Selina walked toward it slowly.
She opened it.
Inside was a single line.
"You are asking the wrong questions."
Her fingers tightened slightly.
Then—
a second line appeared beneath it.
Different handwriting again.
"Start asking who is watching you before Lucian does."
Selina's breath slowed.
Not fear.
Awareness.
Because this time—
Lucian wasn't the only one who seemed to know more than he should.
And that changed everything.