Chapter 256 - 256: Something Isn't Right

<🎧 Song Recommendation: Nate by NF>

...

Von blinked, genuinely confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Stop playing dumb," Max scoffed, pointing his spoon right at Von's chest. "I know what you two did. The jig is up."

"Max, what are you rambling about? I just got back from Toronto thirty minutes ago."

"Exactly!" Max said loudly, leaning in like he was revealing a top-secret conspiracy. "You went to Toronto, and Emily miraculously disappeared to the airport right after you left. You two sneaked off on a secret vacation while the rest of us were here sweating through dance drills!"

Von stared at him for three full seconds.

"...A vacation?"

"Yes, a vacation!" Max said with complete confidence. "She tried to feed me some ridiculous cover story about being in a meeting, but I saw right through her. You guys coordinated it so you could meet up away from the team."

Von didn't answer right away.

The casual smile on his face slowly faded.

"She told you she was in a meeting?" Von asked calmly.

"Yeah, that was her excuse," Max chuckled, scooping up another bite of ice cream. "Then the airport intercom went off right behind her head. And when I called her out on it, she told me it was the TV. The TV! She went to meet you in Canada. You don't have to hide it, bro. Your secret is safe with me."

Max gave him a playful wink, patted Von's shoulder with the back of his hand, and shuffled off down the hallway toward the media room, humming happily to himself.

Von stood frozen in the middle of the empty hallway.

The silence around him felt suddenly heavy.

'She wasn't in Toronto.'

Von had spent the entire day with Olivia and Dan Viking. Emily hadn't been anywhere near Canada, nor had she mentioned traveling to anyone on the core executive team.

And if she had genuinely needed to fly out for something operational, she would have texted him the moment the issue arose. She never made major moves without looping him into the loop.

'She lied to Max,' Von realized, his eyes narrowing slightly. 'She left the mansion without telling anyone, and got on a plane.'

Why?

Where was she flying that was worth lying about so badly?

A quiet chill settled in Von's chest.

He remembered the tour leak from three days ago, the finished audio master of Remedy and the complete rehearsal video that had been posted by an anonymous account.

David had made it clear; whoever did it was inside their circle, someone who had signed an NDA and had direct access to high-level files.

Von hadn't wanted to doubt anyone on his core team, and even if he did, Emily was the last person he would doubt.

But standing in the dim corridor of his own house, the pieces refused to fit neatly together.

He stood there for a long minute, letting the cold reality settle in.

'Focus,' Von told himself, drawing a steady breath. 'Don't jump to conclusions without facts.'

He needed answers, but he wasn't going to get them by pacing an empty hallway.

Turning on his heel, Von walked down the wing and pushed open the heavy door of the recording studio.

Von sat down in the leather swivel chair, booted up the studio monitors, and opened the project file for I Just Might Be Dreaming.

He put his personal doubts aside and forced his full attention into the music.

He worked with perfection and precision. He stripped the pre-chorus clean, cutting out the cluttered synths and drums he had spent days fighting with.

He inserted two beats of dead, hollow silence right before the drop, recording a crisp, dry whisper take directly into the condenser mic:

'I just might be dreaming...'

Then, he dialed in a deep, analog sub-bass glide on the downbeat, locking it tightly to a crisp four-on-the-floor kick.

When he played the full sequence back through the main monitors, the transition hit so hard the air in the soundproofed room practically vibrated.

It was dark, hypnotic, and almost ready for the stage.

Von saved the session, exported the clean reference track to an encrypted flash drive, and leaned back in his chair. He still had to hand it to Patch for the finishing work.

He checked the studio clock.

[1:50 AM.]

Von's stomach let out an audible growl, reminding him that he hadn't eaten since the quick sandwich in Toronto hours ago.

Remembering that Marcello had left food in the fridge, Von shut down the monitors and headed out of the studio.

The mansion was completely quiet as he made his way down the dim hallway and into the kitchen.

He switched on the small pendant light above the island, pulled the plate of grilled chicken and pasta from the fridge, and set it in the microwave.

While waiting for it to heat up, he grabbed a cold bottle of water and leaned back against the counter, taking a slow sip.

Von was thinking about when Emily will return when a soft click broke the silence from the garage entryway.

Some moments later, the side door turned slowly, and Emily slipped inside.

She had her dark trench coat wrapped tightly around herself, carrying a small bag in one hand and her car keys in the other. Moving carefully so as not to wake anyone, she stepped around the corner toward the kitchen.

The moment she rounded the archway, she stopped dead.

Von was standing right there by the island, watching her.

For a fraction of a second, surprise flickered across Emily's face. But before the silence could stretch, she forced a warm, tired smile and walked into the room, setting her keys and bag down on the edge of the counter.

"You're still awake?" she asked softly, stepping close and wrapping her arms around his neck in a gentle hug.

"Von, you need to be sleeping. Night two at the1 Kaseya Center is tomorrow, and eating heavy food at two in the morning isn't going to help."

She pulled back slightly, her hand coming up to gently brush against his cheek.

"How was Toronto? Did everything go well with Arthur and the promoter?"

Von didn't lean into the touch.

He stayed completely still, his eyes drifting down to the dark trench coat she was still wearing, the bag sitting by her keys, and the tiredness in her face.

"Toronto was fine," Von said calmly.

He looked straight into her eyes.

"Where are you coming from, Emily?"