The call came the next afternoon while Lian was changing the bandage on her forearm. She stared at the phone for a full three seconds before answering it. Kai noticed immediately.
“You’re bleeding on the table,” he said from the couch without looking up from his tablet.
“Don’t start,” she replied, pressing gauze down and finally picking up the phone. “Hello.”
There was a pause on the other end, long enough to feel awkward. Then the voice she hadn’t heard properly in years settled into her ear.
“Lian. It’s me.”
She closed her eyes. “I know.”
Another pause then a small laugh. “You always were blunt.”
Kai looked over then. He caught the look on her face and mouthed, Him?
She nodded once and turned away.
“Listen,” the doctor said. “I know yesterday was strange. I didn’t want to catch you off guard, but… it was good to see you.”
“It was unexpected,” she said carefully.
“I was hoping we could talk.”
Lian leaned against the wall. The city noise filtered in through the window. She didn’t feel cornered. Just tired.
“I’m busy,” she said.
“I figured,” he replied. “You always are. But if you have time tonight, there’s a charity event at the hospital. I’ll be there for a few hours. You could come by. Or not. I just thought I’d ask.”
She hesitated. “I’ll think about it.”
“That’s all I wanted,” he said. “Take care, Lian.”
The call ended. She lowered the phone slowly.
Kai raised an eyebrow. “Well.”
She sighed. “He invited me to a hospital event.”
“That’s a terrible date idea.”
“It’s not a date.”
Kai shrugged.
She tossed the used gauze into the trash. “I’m not going for him.”
“But you’re going.”
She looked at her brother. “We already flagged that hospital’s donor list last month. This could be useful.”
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Kai considered that. “So this is work.”
“Yes.”
He smiled. “Good. Because I already pulled the guest list when you froze like that.”
She stared at him. “You’re unbelievable.”
“I love you too.”
They left the apartment just before sunset. Lian wore a simple black dress while Kai looked like a bored graduate student who accidentally wandered into the wrong building. They blended in perfectly.
The hospital lobby buzzed with polite conversation and soft music. Doctors in tailored suits and donors with expensive watches.
Lian scanned the room out of habit. Nothing felt wrong. That was the part that always unsettled her.
Kai murmured in her ear, “No obvious threats. Security is light but professional.”
“Any familiar names?” she asked.
“A few,” he said. “Mostly clean. Mostly.”
She spotted him near the refreshment table, speaking with an older man and a woman in pearls. He looked older too. Not in a bad way.
He noticed her almost immediately.
His smile faltered for a fraction of a second before returning. He excused himself and walked over.
“You came,” he said.
“For a bit,” she replied.
He nodded. “I’m glad.”
Kai drifted toward a display board without being introduced. The doctor watched him go.
“Your brother,” he said. “He looks well.”
“He is,” Lian answered.
They stood there with cups of mineral water and neither of them drank.
“I didn’t know if you’d answer my call,” he admitted. “I wouldn’t have blamed you if you didn’t.”
“You always say that,” she said.
“And you always prove me wrong.”
She almost smiled.
“I heard about your work,” he said eventually. “You’re… hard to track.”
“Occupational hazard,” she replied.
He studied her. “You’re different.”
“So are you.”
He nodded. “I worked hard to be.”
The words landed heavier than he probably intended.
Across the room, Kai’s voice slipped into her earpiece. “Two people just entered from the west doors. One of them is not on the guest list.”
Lian didn’t react outwardly. “What’s your read?”
“Female. Athletic. She’s scanning exits.”
Lian took a slow breath. “Where is she now?”
“Near the staircase. She clocked me already.”
The doctor noticed the shift in her posture. “Something wrong?”
“No,” she said calmly.
Kai continued, “She’s not moving aggressively. Could be nothing.”
Lian met the doctor’s eyes. “I should go.”
He frowned slightly. “Already?”
“Yes.”
He hesitated. “Lian… can I ask you something?”
She waited.
“Are you happy?”
She didn’t answer right away. “I’m alive.”
He nodded like he understood, even if he didn’t. “That’s something.”
She turned to leave and stopped. “Take care of yourself.”
“You too,” he said softly.
She joined Kai near the exit.
“Was that her?” she asked quietly.
Kai nodded. “She’s good. Not bad.”
“Did she follow us?”
“No,” he said.
They stepped outside into the humid night.
Kai exhaled. “So. How was seeing him again?”
Lian looked back at the hospital entrance once. “Complicated.”
He smiled faintly. “Figures.”
