Julian
Everyone else left the estate around three in the morning, Ethan first, then Clara excusing herself to give Sebastian and me a moment alone, and I sat in the quiet study long after their footsteps had faded, the adrenaline of the night finally draining out of me and leaving something rawer in its place.
Sebastian settled onto the couch beside me, exhaustion evident in every line of his posture. "We're safe," he said, more to himself than to me, as if repeating it might make the last three hours feel less like a near-catastrophe. "Ethan got the photograph back. Preston doesn't have proof anymore."
"For tonight," I said quietly, echoing Ethan's own warning from earlier.
"For tonight," he agreed.
I sat with that for a long moment, watching him, feeling something shift and settle i
