And with that, Eleonor walked away—Lee following closely behind—leaving Damien standing in the wake of her certainty, with nothing left to do but wait.
The city rolled past the tinted windows in a blur of muted color and motion.
Inside the vehicle, the air was calm—deliberately so.
Dahlia sat composed in the back seat, posture relaxed, gaze fixed ahead as if nothing at all had been disrupted. Kim occupied the front passenger seat, focused on the road, her attention steady and forward.
Beside Dahlia, Maya sat still.
Too still.
Her phone rested in her hands, fingers wrapped a little too tightly. The screen remained dark, but she didn’t need to turn it on to know what waited there.
Missed calls. More than one.
She swallowed, her thumb hovering just above the glass, uncertainty flicker
