nick had been having so much fun with gabriela the past few months that he'd almost forgotten about howard archibald. almost. they'd been teasing each other under their breath, stopping by her office before heading out for dinner (if they made it that far). nick hadn't thought anything was different, he had no reason to feel apprehensive. he wasn't like lili or atticus, he wasn't hyper vigilant when he didn't have to be. again, he'd almost forgotten that they had conspired behind her back to protect her. what was the harm, right? it's not like he didn't want to be here.
"hopefully you don't have to make any last minute phone calls in here...," he teased, reaching for the handle of her office door and pushing it open. nick's eyes were on her, of course. but something suddenly felt off.
not a lot could shock nicholas vanderbilt. when he looked into her office and saw the dripping red... his breath caught. was that blood? no, it had to paint. it must be. in any case, in dripping, blood-red letters on her office wall read: 'i know what you did to me'. nick felt his stomach drop and his hand reach out instinctively in front of her. there was no one else in the office though, that much he could see. that much he could be sure of.
without further ado, he had pulled out his phone and hit speed dial. atticus would know what to do. he'd send lili, he'd send a team. they'd... have to confess their arrangement to gabriela at last. "it's happened. gabriela's office. i- yeah, now. please." they hung up the call after that, leaving nick in the aftermath. @gabriela-archibald
























