Riverside Park looked harmless in the afternoon sun.
Children ran near the water, chasing each other with sticks. A couple sat on a bench sharing a drink. An old man fed stale bread to pigeons that didn't need it. It was the kind of place people chose when they wanted the illusion of safety.
I walked along the path with my hands in my pockets. The river moved in slow, dark waves.
Evelyn stood under a bare tree near the edge of the walking path. Her posture was straight, rigid, like a soldier waiting for inspection. Her hands were clenched around the strap of her bag. Her eyes tracked me as I approached.
She wore the same academy jacket as last night. The badge still glinted on her chest, but her expression had changed. Less confident. More focused.
"You came," she said.
"You asked," I answered.
She looked me over, taking in the clean clothes, the lack of a hospital wristband, the calm expression. She was looking for the broken boy she knew. She wouldn't find him.
"You walked out of the hospital without discharge papers," she said. "You confronted your brother at a public event and forced him to kneel. You left without explanation. This morning, his statement claims you are unstable and need help."
"And what do you think?" I asked.
"That is what I am trying to figure out," she said. "Because right now, both of you look dangerous. In different ways."
We stood in silence for a moment, listening to the water and the distant traffic.
"You have always been intense, Aiden," she said quietly. "Passionate. But you weren't like this."
"Like what?"
She studied my face.
"Like you are watching a chessboard that no one else can see. Like you already know everyone's moves before they act."
She was more right than she realized.
The system hummed at the edge of my awareness.
[Target: Evelyn Black][Emotional Thread: Strong][Current Status: Concern, Confusion, Latent Attraction]
I ignored it. I didn't need a system to read her. I knew exactly which buttons to push.
"Lucas is lying about what happened," I said. "That part is simple."
"Is he?" she asked. "Because yesterday you accused him of trying to kill you. In front of half the city."
"I did."
"Do you have proof?"
"Not one you would accept yet. Not one that wouldn't put you in the crosshairs."
She frowned. "You talk like you are protecting me."
"I am," I said. "For now."
She stepped closer. There was anger in her eyes. Worry rode underneath it.
"Aiden. If you keep talking like this to the wrong people, they will lock you up. Lucas has money. Influence. Lawyers. If he pushes the narrative that you are unstable, he will win."
"For a while," I said.
"Are you trying to provoke him? Is this some twisted plan?"
"Yes."
She stared at me.
"Well, it is working," she said flatly. "There is already pressure on the academy, on the department, on me. They want a report. They want me to say you are dangerous."
"And will you?"
"I don't know yet," she said. "That is why you are here."
Her honesty was her weakness. It always had been.
"Then ask," I said. "Whatever you want."
She took a slow breath.
"Have you hurt anyone since leaving the hospital?"
"Yes," I said.
Her jaw tightened.
"Who?"
"Three men in the Western District who were hunting a girl for her blood," I said. "They aren't dead. They will reconsider their career choices."
Evelyn hesitated.
"Are you making that up?"
"No. You will find the reports soon. Or the missing persons cases."
She didn't flinch at the implication. If anything, her eyes hardened.
"You aren't helping your case."
"I am not building a case," I replied. "I am building a position."
She shook her head, frustrated.
"I know Lucas isn't what he pretends to be. I have seen things. Deals. Names that disappear from records. But he moves carefully. His hands are clean on paper."
"Mine won't be," I said. "That is the point."
She blinked.
"You are admitting that?"
"I am admitting that I am done playing by rules written for people who have never bled," I said. "Lucas uses the law and his public image to destroy people. I will use fear and truth. When he falls, no one will be able to pretend they didn't know what he was."
"You want me to help you?" she asked. "Is that it?"
"I want you to watch," I said. "If you want to call me unstable, wait until you see the whole picture."
Her fingers clenched tighter on the bag strap.
"You are making this very hard."
"It was never going to be easy," I replied.
We stood there for a moment, the wind tugging at her hair.
"Tell me something," she said suddenly. "And don't lie. If your brother orders me to bring you in by force, what will you do?"
I held her gaze.
"I won't go quietly," I said.
"And if I am the one standing in front of you?" she pressed.
There was the knife.
I stepped closer so that the distance between us vanished. I could see the tiny reflection of myself in her pupils.
"Then I will warn you once," I said. "Only once."
"And then?" she whispered.
"Then you will have to decide whether you are on his side or on mine," I said. "There is no third way."
She swallowed. "This isn't a game."
"I know," I replied. "That is why I am alive this time."
She frowned. "This time. You keep talking like you have done this before."
I let a small, cold smile touch my lips.
"Maybe I have."
A gust of wind swept between us.
The system tingled.
[Emotional Resonance Increased][Evelyn Black: Doubt Rising. Attachment Thread Forming.]
She looked away first.
"I will stall the request," she said quietly. "I will say that you are cooperative enough for a voluntary approach. I will recommend observation, not detention. That will buy time."
"How much?"
"Days," she said. "Maybe a week. After that, if you keep shaking the city, nothing I write will matter."
"Days are enough," I said.
She exhaled.
"Aiden. I am not saying I believe everything you are implying. But I know Lucas well enough to know that if someone is making him this angry, they aren't completely wrong."
I nodded.
"I don't need you to believe me yet," I said. "I just need you not to shoot me in the back."
"That isn't how I work," she said.
"I know," I answered. "That is why I called you."
She blinked. "You didn't call me. I called you."
"Did you?" I said. "Or did you react exactly the way I knew you would when you saw that video?"
Her eyes searched my face again.
"This version of you is very hard to read," she said.
"Get used to it," I replied.
She hesitated, then turned to leave.
"Aiden," she said without looking back. "Don't make me regret giving you time."
"Don't make me regret trusting you with it," I replied.
She walked away down the path until the trees swallowed her.
The system whispered.
[Evelyn Black's Trust: Unstable][Alignment: Undecided][Potential: Immense]
The sun dipped lower. The river darkened.
I turned and walked back toward the city. The day was over. The night belonged to me.