Chapter 272: The Knife and the Calm

When Jonathan got home, Sierra wasn't there. He was about to call her when the door opened.

"What do you want for dinner?"

She said it as if nothing had happened, walking in and heading to her room to change. Jonathan didn't ask where she'd been. He simply rolled up his sleeves and went straight into the kitchen. Sierra followed to help, moving quietly beside him.

It didn't take him long to notice something was amiss.

"What's wrong?"

Sierra hesitated for a moment. Then, she said plainly, "Jose came to see me today."

The moment the words left her mouth, Jonathan's face darkened.

"What did he say to you?"

Sierra didn't sugarcoat it. She gave him the basics—what Jose had said, how he offered to leave if Jonathan returned to the family.

Jonathan let out a short, cold laugh. "He said he'd leave?" He sneered. "Did he say anything about Susie?"

He always found it funny how they were willing to be noble only when it suited them. If Jose truly wanted to avoid conflict, why show up in the first place?

"He said he couldn't speak for his mother. Just that... she loves your father very much."

The knife in Jonathan's hand paused mid-chop. Sierra quickly reached over, placing a hand on his arm. "Easy. You'll crack the cutting board."

She had a way of grounding him, always had. He looked over at her.

"Do you believe him?"

"I believe you." Her voice was calm, steady. "He's a stranger to me. You're not."

Even if Jose truly did admire Jonathan, Sierra wasn't going to tell Jonathan to accept him. Maybe Jose was innocent. But Jonathan had lost so much more.

Sierra took the knife from his hand and kept cutting, her voice still soft. "Just do what feels right to you. He came to me to say his piece. That's all. Whatever you want to do—I'm behind you."

The tension in Jonathan's shoulders eased.

"They're not as innocent as they act," he muttered. Susie and his mother were supposed to be best friends. No one who actually cared about her could have done what Susie did.

After that, they didn't bring up the Wynn family again. Sierra shifted the conversation to school and to Dickson.

"I spoke with his teacher a few days ago. He's doing great. Got a few new friends, grades are on track."

"Then when he comes back this weekend, we'll make something good for him."

Sierra smiled. She didn't bring up Shane's phone call. Jonathan already had enough on his plate; she didn't want to add to it. But Shane clearly wasn't done.

A few days later, Sierra saw him on campus—standing with school leadership, apparently visiting the research building. He looked right at her.

"Wow," Autumn whispered beside her. "That's the guy the school was talking about? Didn't expect him to be that young or that hot."

Sierra followed her gaze and froze. Shane. Her face turned cold.

"Some people look human, but they're worse than animals." Shane and Kason, people like them, never cared about others; they just sought thrills.

The sharpness in her voice made everyone around her look up in surprise. This wasn't the calm, polite Sierra they were used to.

Autumn blinked. "Wait… you know him?"

"No." Sierra turned back to her work, her tone clipped. "I don't."

Outside, Shane was still watching her. One of the faculty members noticed.

"That's the student we brought in on a special track," they explained. "She's quite brilliant."

"I know." Shane smiled. "She's very impressive."

The implication behind his words was clear. And so, when the school invited Sierra to a lunch meeting with the visiting official, they didn't mention who would be there. When she stepped in and saw Shane, she turned right around to leave.

The administrator looked genuinely confused. "What's going on? You two aren't friends?" Shane had just told him they were. That was the whole reason she was invited in the first place.

Their school didn't do favors for powerful people lightly, even if Shane had strong connections. Besides, Sierra was dating Jonathan. That counted for something.

Before she could say anything, Shane stood up.

"We are friends," he said smoothly. "Just had a little misunderstanding. Sierra. Long time no see."

It really had been a while. This was their first face-to-face since coming to Capital City. All eyes turned to her, curious.

Not wanting to make a scene, Sierra picked the farthest seat from him and sat down. She barely said a word throughout lunch, but she learned plenty. Shane now worked in the medical system—and he wasn't just some entry-level employee. He had power.