Tatiana was still carefully packing her basket, folding the cloth inside with a kind of quiet focus like she wanted everything to be perfect before she left. The cookies were already gone, but she still checked the container twice as if she didn't trust reality to stay stable if she didn't. Liam was sitting close by on the crate, relaxed in that usual way of his, one arm resting loosely while the other hung between his knees. The room felt calm in that short lived way it always did right before something important interrupted it.
That was when Irina walked in.
Mary was right behind her.
Irina's steps were steady, controlled, like she already knew exactly what she was going to say and had no interest in debating it. Her eyes swept the room once, landing briefly on Tatiana, and she gave a small polite nod. Not cold, not warm either, just acknowledgement. Then her gaze shifted to Liam and stayed there a little longer.
"I need to talk to you," Irina said simply.
