The Devil You Know (Sebastian Michaelis x Female! Reader)

- The Next Day –

(Y/N) had barely been home for an hour, and already, her desk looked like a crime scene of its own.

Newspaper clippings, printed emails, crime reports—all scattered haphazardly across her workspace, each one marked with frantic highlighter strokes and scribbled notes.

Her laptop sat open, displaying a list of public records she was digging through for patterns.

Or, rather, it would be, if not for one small, fuzzy problem.

Mittens was loafed directly on her keyboard.

Her fluffy little body was perfectly shaped like a bread roll, paws tucked neatly under her, eyes half-lidded in feline arrogance.

(Y/N) sighed. "Mittens, babe. I love you. But you are literally blocking my entire screen."

Mittens did not move.

She blinked slowly—which (Y/N) knew, scientifically, was a cat's way of saying "I love you."

Which was sweet.

But also deeply unhelpful.

(Y/N) tried to gently nudge her. "Come on, Mitty, just let me move you a little—"

Mittens let out a soft, dramatic chirp and flopped even harder onto the keyboard.

The MacBook screen glitched violently.

(Y/N) let out a strangled gasp. "NO—"

Sebastian, standing near the bookshelf, barely glanced up from the document he was reading.

"...It appears you've been bested," he said smoothly.

(Y/N) shot him a glare.

"She's sabotaging me. I am being sabotaged. By my own cat."

Sebastian let out a quiet hum, completely unbothered. "Hardly surprising. She is, after all, of a far more intelligent species than most humans."

(Y/N) pinched the bridge of her nose. "I— You know what? Not the point."

She gently lifted Mittens from the keyboard—enduring the most betrayed expression imaginable—and placed her onto a cushioned seat beside her.

Mittens sighed dramatically, tucking herself back into a loaf.

(Y/N) finally turned back to the document in her hands. "Okay. So, this article. It's from six months ago—some big CEO guy was found dead under 'mysterious circumstances.'"

Sebastian set his book down and walked over, glancing at the paper.

(Y/N) tapped at the coroner's report. "His death was labeled an 'accident.' But the details don't match up. And look at this—"

She flipped the page, revealing a blurry crime scene photo.

Right there, near the body, barely noticeable in the dim lighting—

A symbol.

The same one that had been drawn in blood on her parents' floor.

A cold weight settled in (Y/N)'s chest.

"...It's not random," she muttered. "Whoever killed my parents—they've done this before."

Sebastian studied the image, his expression unreadable. Then, after a long moment—

Knock, knock.

(Y/N) flinched.

Her breath hitched as she snapped her head toward the door.