Well, I couldn't stand by the Silver Door again, but I also couldn't resist the urge to peek inside. The door could only be opened by Dad or me—so why the heck couldn't I see what was behind it? Before my curiosity completely took over, I had to make an excuse and leave.
"Excuse me, I'm pressed," I mumbled, weaving past Jayden and Alex as if I had somewhere very important to be. Somewhere not there, at least.
Sleep was supposed to come naturally in a house full of blinking lights and humming drones, but apparently my brain hadn't read the memo. I tossed and turned, the circuits of the lab buzzing in my mind alongside every awkward thought I'd had with Jayden today.
The Silver Door. Jayden. The rooftop drones. Focus, Kim. You're not even supposed to be thinking about any of that.
But curiosity had other plans.
By 1:17 a.m., I gave up. Quietly, I slipped out of bed, tiptoeing past Alex's room. Thankfully, the hovering drone delivering his midnight snack didn't betray me.
The lab glowed like the control deck of a spaceship when I arrived. And of course, Jayden was already there.
He looked up from a floating hologram display of code, smirking like he'd been waiting for me.
"Can't sleep either?" he asked casually, swiveling on his stool.
I froze. Heart flipping, hands twisting the hem of my pajama top. Uh… maybe. You?
"You could say I'm debugging my own insomnia," he said, grinning.
I rolled my eyes, trying to sound casual. Right. Midnight coding session. Totally normal.
Jayden leaned back, eyes scanning the lab like he was memorizing every gadget. "You come here often at this hour?"
"Depends," I replied carefully. "Sometimes the gadgets need moral support. Sometimes I… just need to think."
He pointed at a hovering drone near my shoulder. "And sometimes," he teased, "you sneak in to check if the robots are gossiping about you?"
I scoffed, but he was right. My drones were very chatty—especially the ones monitoring the mansion.
"Okay, serious question," Jayden said, tilting his head, "why do you care so much about the Silver Door? Most people wouldn't even notice a flicker in the lights."
I froze. Did I just say too much?
"It's… nothing," I replied, pretending to tweak a coffee-brewing drone. "Just tech stuff. Really boring."
"Uh-huh," he said, smirking. "Boring. You know, you're terrible at lying."
I groaned. Great. Another genius reminding me how obvious I am.
He laughed—that laugh. Low, easy, and somehow makes-your-chest-flip ridiculous.
"Fine," I muttered, throwing my hands up. "Maybe it's… interesting. Maybe I'm curious. Happy?"
Jayden's grin widened. "Ecstatic. I like curious."
Then he leaned closer, voice dropping. "Here's a better question: what's your dad hiding behind that door?"
I froze, hands hovering over my tiny drone. How does he know I've wondered about that every day of my life?
"I—" I started, but he cut me off.
"Relax. I'm not trying to steal your secrets. Yet."
"Yet?"
He shrugged, casually pressing something on his phone. Suddenly, a hologram of the mansion appeared, a blinking red square over the Silver Door.
"You see this?" he asked, eyes glinting. "I'm not asking you to open it. I just… want to understand why you're so protective of it."
I crossed my arms, trying to look unbothered. "It's… complicated."
"Ah. The classic 'complicated' defense. I like it. Mysterious, but not too obvious. You're a puzzle, Kim."
My cheeks warmed. I'm not a puzzle.
"Sure you're not," he said with mock seriousness. "You're a walking, talking, caffeine-powered genius with a talent for chaos."
I groaned, but he laughed again, that ridiculous laugh that made staying mad impossible.
"You really think you can just sneak around rules, huh?" I asked, trying to sound serious.
"I'm not sneaking," he said innocently. "I'm… researching. For science."
"Rules are rules," I muttered, arms crossed. "Not even for fun. Not even for curiosity. Not even for you."
He leaned closer, eyes glinting in the lab's soft glow. "Especially not for me, huh?"
I glared—but my chest did that weird flip again anyway.
"Okay," he said, waving his hands. "Let's test something then. Show me your favorite gadget."
I hesitated, but curiosity won. I pointed to a small hovering drone with a tiny camera and a coffee cup holder. "This little guy brews coffee for anyone walking through the lab. Well… if you can grab the cup before it flies off."
He grinned, reaching for it. The drone zipped around, spilling a tiny drop of coffee onto my sleeve.
"Hey!" I exclaimed, half laughing, half glaring.
"Perfect," he said, holding the cup triumphantly. "Just like your Silver Door—full of surprises and impossible to control."
I scowled but couldn't hide the smile tugging at my lips.
For a while, we just stood there, the lab humming softly, drones gliding silently around us, the mansion sleeping except for the two of us. Weird. Comfortable. Exciting. Maybe… a little dangerous.
Then one of the drones buzzed closer, projecting a flicker of red light on the floor near the Silver Door.
"Hmm," Jayden murmured, tilting his head. "Looks like your little guardian here doesn't like intruders."
"It's… nothing," I said quickly, but my eyes flicked toward the Silver Door. It wasn't just curiosity keeping me awake—it was the rules I was meant to follow. Rules in this house were better off not broken.
But my brain and my heart disagreed.
And somewhere deep down, I knew: tonight, curiosity had won… and the Silver Door's secret wasn't going to stay locked for long.