Zariah didn't wait for the elevator chime. She stood frozen in the kitchen, staring at the warning on the envelope in her mother's handwriting, " Don't trust Dorian Voss."
Her pulse pounded, what kind of mother leaves a message like that and then dies under mysterious circumstances?
Before she could process the thought, a soft knock broke through the stillness.
She walked to the door, gripping the envelope tight in one hand as if it were amor. With the other, she turned the handle and came face to face with the man whose name had been etched into warning.
Dorian Voss.
He was taller than she expected, impossibly polished, charcoal suit, silver cufflinks, dark hair slicked back just enough to be arrogant but it wasn't his appearance that caught her off guard. It was his eyes. Cold gray, flecked with something unreadable, something that made her stomach flip, not in fear, but in recognition. No that wasn't possible, they hadnl never met. Had they?
"Ms Cole" he said, voice velvet lined steel. You're exactly on time."
She said nothing, stepping aside with the smallest of nods.
He walked into the apartment like he'd been there before. Like he owned it.
"You're not late for anything" she finally said, voice clipped. "I didn't invite you."
"No" he replied, glancing around, "but your mother did"
Zariah's breath hitched. "Excuse me?"
"She left certain... Documents," Dorian said, facing her now. "Legal, financial, sensitive. I represent the party responsible for overseeing their management."
"What party?"
He smiled thinly. "The kind with power."
She hates how calmly he spoke, like her life was a chessboard he'd already played through.
"I don't need your help" She said.
"You don't have a choice "
Zariah's jaw clenched. "This is my home."
"This is a crime scene ", he corrected.
"And you're standing in the middle of a puzzle your mother died trying to solve."
Zariah took a step back.
Dorian's voice softened, just slightly. "You're not the only one with questions, Zariah.""
The way he said her name made her shiver.
She hesitated, then pulled the envelope from behind her back and held it out "She left this, I haven't opened it yet."
He stared at it, then at her. "Then you better do it."
She nodded once, tore the seal and unfolded the paper inside. Her mother's handwriting filled the page, erratic, rushed as it reads, "If you're reading this, I didn't slip. I was pushed. They're watching everything. The files are hidden but you can't do this alone. Dorian Voss knows more than he says. Don't trust him completely but don't push him away. He's the only one who can lead you back to the truth." -Love always, Mom.
Zariah looked up at him and for the first time, she saw it, something under the surface of Dorian's mask.
Guilt or maybe grief or maybe just a dangerous past trying to stay buried.
"Why would she trust you?" Zariah whispered.
Dorian answer came slow.
"She didn't " he said "but she knew I'd come anyway."