As exhausting as that night turned out to be, as much as I wanted to just find a bed—in my own home, in a hotel, in Cornellio's guest room, didn't matter—I had one important matter to deal with first. I called Panda.
Despite it being middle of the night, she answered on the third ring. Her voice was rough with sleep and annoyed at its interruption. "Yes? Diana, why do you call so late?" Panda cleared her throat and added in a wary tone. "Did something happen on your business trip?"
I didn't even know how to begin to reply to that… But Panda took my hesitation for an answer in its own right.
"Of course it did. I don't know if it's your bad luck, or result of your choices in life, or both, but I knew it will end like that… Do you need my help with something?"
