Roxana knocked once, indifferent and legal, and entered without waiting for an answer.
The room shifted.
Alexander Hunter Preston looked up from the side of the bed, one hand still resting lightly on Catherine's blanket. The moment his eyes met Roxana's, something unreadable crossed his face. Not surprise. Not irritation.
Recognition.
Roxana halted just inside the room. For a fraction of a second, so brief Duncan almost missed it, her spine went rigid.
"…Alexander," she said.
Her voice was calm. Too calm. Like a weapon that had been polished often and recently.
"Roxana Hollister," Alexander replied. He rose slowly, folding his sleeves with deliberate ease, the kind of composure that made judges sit straighter without knowing why. "I was wondering when the hospital would send its executioner. Didn't think it would be you."
A corner of her mouth twitched. "Still dramatic. Some habits survive law school."
Duncan felt his soul leave his body.
They know each other.
No. Worse.
They went to law school together.
Which meant rivalry. History. Something unresolved. Duncan could feel it, thick and sharp in the air, like static before lightning.
Catherine, half-reclined and drowsy but unmistakably alert, watched them with narrowed eyes.
Oh.
This is interesting. Brother… is nervous. That is a first.
Roxana adjusted her glasses and spared Catherine a brief glance. Her expression softened by exactly one degree. Professional courtesy. Nothing more. Then she turned back to Alexander and stepped closer.
"Your sister experienced an unfortunate incident," Roxana said crisply. "The hospital is prepared to cooperate fully. However, there are matters of liability we need to discuss."
Alexander smiled.
It was not a kind smile. Whatever softness had flickered in his eyes vanished at the mention of his sister.
"I'm sure," he said. "Though I find it curious that 'cooperate fully' apparently excludes basic monitoring of a patient who had just been assaulted."
Roxana did not flinch. She stepped closer, well past the boundary where polite distance survived.
"Our logs show~"
"Your logs," Alexander interrupted smoothly, "will be shredded in court."
Duncan offered a silent prayer to every god that had ever existed.
Roxana met Alexander's gaze head-on. Blue eyes to blue eyes. Two apex predators, evenly matched.
"You always did enjoy foreplay before the kill," she said quietly.
Alexander's smile deepened, just enough to be dangerous. "You never complained before."
Catherine's eyebrows shot up. Her jaw dropped.
Oh my God.
I thought they were rivals. This is better. So much better! So… my brother likes women. Wow!!!
Duncan noticed the tension too and seriously considered crawling into the IV stand and living there permanently.
Roxana inhaled, visibly recalibrating. "This is not law school," she said. "And I am not here for old… habits."
"Pity," Alexander replied. "You were a better company then."
Silence stretched. Charged. Sharp. Unfinished.
Catherine cleared her throat loudly. "Am I interrupting something?" she asked sweetly, "Or should I fake a relapse and give you two privacy?"
Both of them turned to her at once.
Alexander's expression softened instantly, all sharp edges vanishing. "You should be resting."
Roxana raised an eyebrow. "She seems lucid enough to testify."
Catherine smiled, bright and venomous. "I absolutely am."
Duncan felt sweat slide down his spine.
Roxana straightened, professionalism snapping back into place like armor. Before she could speak, Alexander cut in.
"I'm her lawyer," he said. "You'll be talking to me."
Catherine felt a flicker of disappointment. She wanted to know the woman who had managed to unsettle her famously unflappable brother, whose world consisted only of work and his sister. But Roxana looked competent. Dangerous, even. Better to let Alexander handle it.
"Very well, Mr. Preston," Roxana said, smiling. "We will discuss the incident. The knife. The injury. And the hospital's exposure."
Alexander nodded. "And afterward," he said mildly, "we'll discuss negligence, emotional distress, and how quickly your board will fold."
Their eyes locked again.
Heat. Memory. Competition.
Catherine leaned back, watching with fascination.
So this, she thought, is possibly the only woman who survived Alexander.
Duncan clutched his tablet like a life raft. He had the distinct feeling he was witnessing the opening act of a legal war.
And possibly… a very complicated reunion.
Both Duncan and Catherine stared, unblinking, as Alexander and Roxana left the room to "discuss" the issue at hand.
Which, to Duncan's understanding, involved statutes, liability, and maybe precedent.
Not privacy. Not that look.
The door shut behind them.
Catherine blinked once. Twice. Then the awe evaporated, replaced by something sharp and calculating.
"Mr. Wesley," she said, voice suddenly precise. "You were my brother's PA when I first signed the contract with Helios Biotec, weren't you?"
Duncan straightened on instinct. "Yes, Miss Preston. Is there a problem?"
He remembered the first time he'd met her: how young she'd looked, how impossibly composed. She was graceful in a way that felt almost antique, like she belonged in an oil painting instead of a boardroom. The way she spoke, the careful elegance of her movements, the delicate precision of her fingers when she gestured…
He'd stared exactly one second too long.
Hunter Alex had noticed. He smiled pleasantly and informed him that if his eyes lingered again, he would personally hollow them out and mount them as a cautionary exhibit.
Since then, Duncan had perfected the art of respectful three-second glances when it came to her.
He also remembered the contract.
That airtight, mercilessly thorough contract Alexander had drafted for his sister. A simple research agreement that any junior associate could have finished before lunch—except Alexander didn't trust simple where Catherine was concerned. He had labored over every clause, every comma, every hypothetical liability, until it was impossible for even a molecule of her work to be misplaced, misattributed, or stolen.
There shouldn't have been a problem.
"They're trying to steal my research," Catherine said calmly.
Duncan's soul left his body.
"Oh," he managed weakly. Because that was… catastrophic. Hunter Alex would go feral. How could anyone...anyone in their right mind try to claim the work of Alexander Preston's sister?
"I'll—"
"My brother doesn't have to know," Catherine cut in smoothly. "For now."
Duncan froze.
"Let him focus on Calhoun and the others," she continued, eyes cool and razor-sharp. "Have another lawyer review it quietly. Take precautions."
This was worse.
Hiding something from Hunter Alex was a death sentence. Ignoring Catherine's explicit request was also a death sentence. Duncan found himself in a legal and moral dilemma with no visible exit.
"Yes, Miss," he said faintly.
"I'll handle Dr. Vale myself," Catherine added.
Duncan looked at her properly then—the sharpened gaze, the slight curl of her lips. The sweetness was gone. The venom in her eyes was unmistakable.
Ah.
There it is.
No wonder they are siblings.
With business settled, Catherine's curiosity reignited like a spark hitting gasoline. She tilted her head, eyes gleaming.
"Well?" she asked. "Why are you still here? Don't you want to know what they're doing?"
Duncan laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head. Yes, he absolutely wanted to know. But Alexander had explicitly told him to guard Catherine's room.
Would he be beheaded if he abandoned his post?
Probably.
But as he looked at the gentle lady who had just effortlessly transformed back into the Princess Demon, Duncan realized something important.
He was doomed either way.
With a sigh that sounded suspiciously like a prayer, Duncan went in search of Hunter Alex...
And his very inconvenient old flame.