The sun was too bright.
It poured through the huge windows of Eva's new room, painting stripes of light on the floor. She had barely slept. Every sound in the big, quiet apartment had seemed loud. Every creak of the floor, every hum of the fridge, it all felt like a message. You don't belong here.
A sharp knock on her door made her jump.
"Up." It was his voice. Leonard. No "good morning." No asking if she was awake. Just a command.
Eva scrambled out of bed. Her heart was already pounding. She pulled on the same clothes from yesterday. She didn't have anything else yet.
She opened the door. He was standing there, dressed in a dark, simple shirt and pants. He looked like he'd been awake for hours. He looked at her messy hair and rumpled clothes. His mouth tightened, just a little. He didn't say anything. He just turned and walked away.
She followed him, her stomach tightening with each step took.
He didn't lead her to an office. He led her to a blank, white room she hadn't seen before. It had nothing in it except for two simple chairs facing each other. It felt like a doctor's office, but colder.
"Sit," he said, pointing to one chair. He took the other.
She sat. The chair was hard and cold.
"Lesson one," he said, his hands resting on his knees. "Information is not a weapon if you don't know how to hold it. You talk too much. You show your cards too soon."
Eva felt her face get hot. He was talking about last night. On the balcony. She thought she had been so brave. He thought she was careless.
"You told me things about my nephew," he said. "But you dumped it all out at once. Like throwing seeds on concrete. Nothing grows. You have to plant each one carefully. You have to make the other person want to know more."
He leaned forward. His eyes were like ice.
"Tell me one thing about your sister. One small, true thing. Not a big secret. A small thing. Something that seems useless."
Eva thought. Her mind went blank. Tyler was all big secrets. Big plans.
"Think," he said, his voice sharp. "What does she do when she thinks no one is watching?"
Eva closed her eyes. She pictured Tyler in her perfect office. Then she remembered.
"She... she listens to old rock music," Eva said, opening her eyes. "Really loud. The kind with shouting. She thinks no one knows. She does it when she's stressed."
Leonard didn't smile. But he gave a small, slow nod. "Good. Now. Why is that a weapon?"
Eva stared at him. "It's... it's just music. It's not a weapon."
"Wrong." The word was like a slap. "It shows weakness. A crack in her perfect shell. She needs an outlet for stress. That means she feels pressure. That means she can be pushed. You find the right moment, you push on that stress, and she might make a mistake. A big one."
He looked at her, waiting for her to understand.
"Everything is a weapon," he said, his voice low and serious. "The time she wakes up. The food she eats. The way she takes her coffee. The friend she trusts too much. You collect it all. You hold it close. And you wait for the right moment to use it."
Eva sat very still. He was talking about her family like they were a puzzle to be taken apart. Piece by piece. It was cold. It was cruel.
It was exactly what she asked for.
"Your turn," he said. "Ask me a question. Anything. Try to find a crack in me."
Eva's mouth felt dry. Ask him a question? What could she possibly ask that he wouldn't use against her?
She took a shaky breath. "What's your favorite book?"
It was a stupid question. A safe one.
He almost smiled. It wasn't a nice look. "You're playing it safe. That's your first mistake. But I'll answer. I don't have one. Stories are for people who have time to waste. I read financial reports. I read security briefings. That's it."
He leaned back in his chair. "My turn. Why are you really here? And don't say 'revenge.' That's the easy answer. What's the real one?"
The question hit her right in the chest. It was too big. Too personal.
She looked down at her hands. The real reason? The reason that kept her up last night?
"I'm tired of being nobody," she whispered, the words coming out before she could stop them. "I'm tired of being the pretty thing everyone looks at but no one really sees. I'd rather be... be this. Be hard. Be someone who matters. Even if it's for a bad reason."
The room was quiet. She couldn't believe she had said that out loud.
Leonard watched her for a long time. His face was unreadable.
"Finally," he said softly. "A truth."
He stood up. The lesson was over.
"Alma will bring you new clothes. Be ready after lunch. Lesson two is harder."
He walked to the door. He stopped with his hand on the knob.
"And Eva?" he said, not looking back. "Don't ever show me that weakness again. Not to me. Not to anyone. The second you show people what you really want, you give them power over you. Remember that."
Then he was gone. The door clicked shut behind him.
Eva sat alone in the white room. She felt like she'd just been turned inside out. He had taken a secret from her, something she hadn't even told Maria. And he'd used it to teach her a lesson.
She felt raw. Exposed.
But she also felt something else. For the first time, someone had looked at her and seen more than just a pretty face. He had seen a hunger. A want. And he hadn't laughed. He had called it a truth.
The fear was still there. But under it, a new feeling was growing.
Determination.
She would learn his lessons. She would become hard. She would become someone who mattered.
No matter what it cost.