Two Can Play (Celeste and Dominic) novel Chapter 91

Chapter 91

There was a pause on the other end that lasted slightly too long.

“Are you sure?” he asked.

“Positive.”

Another pause.

I frowned at the phone. “Dominic.”

“I hear you,” he said.

But something in his voice was off. Something careful and measured in a way that felt different from his usual controlled calm. I could not put my finger on it and I did not have the time to examine it properly.

“We will talk about the details,” he said finally.

“Okay,” I replied.

We ended the call and I stood there for a moment longer than necessary, the phone in my hand, thinking about the pause and what it might mean and telling myself I was definitely overthinking it.

I spent the rest of the day working.

By evening I was ready to go back to the house briefly, collect the things I had moved into the guest room, and bring them to the lab. I did not intend to spend another night under the same roof as Elizabeth and Riley if I could help it.

I was gathering my things when Pat appeared in the doorway.

“You have a visitor,” she said, with a tone that suggested she was not sure how to characterize the visit.

I looked up.

Seraphine was standing behind her.

Pat stepped aside and Seraphine walked in. She looked like she had been through something. Her hair was done and her clothes were put together but underneath all of it she looked tired and tight and stretched thin.

Pat’s face opened into a smile and she moved forward and hugged her. Seraphine accepted the hug without returning it properly.

“I almost died,” Seraphine began, looking between the two of us. “The news was everywhere. And neither of you called. Neither of you checked on me.”

Pat’s face fell immediately. “Sera, I am so sorry. I have been so buried in the setup here I have not had time to look at my phone properly. I should have reached out. I am really sorry.”

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Seraphine looked at me.

I said nothing.

She waited.

I kept saying nothing.

She exhaled sharply and looked away. Then she squared her shoulders and turned back to me with the expression of a woman who had come here for a specific reason and was not leaving without it.

“I need a favor,” she said. “I have not been able to reach my husband. I do not know why. I need you to contact him for me, Celeste.”

I looked at her for a moment.

Then I smiled. “Okay. But how exactly would I be able to reach your husband when you cannot?”

“You have a partnership with Veil Holdings,” she said. “You can use official channels. The CEO, the office line, whatever it takes.” Her voice shifted slightly, taking on the particular tone she used when she was trying to make something sound reasonable that was not. “This is really important to me, Celeste. My husband invested in this lab. The least you can do is help me reach him.”

I opened my mouth to speak.

“This does seem serious,” Pat said, stepping in before I could respond. She was looking at Seraphine with genuine concern, the concern of a woman who had been friends with her for years and had not yet updated her files. “Let’s try reaching her husband through the official Veil Holdings channels, Celeste. It

cannot hurt.”

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