THE text was short. Too short.
No greeting. No emojis. No pleasantries. Just one line. And the sender’s name sitting boldly above it.
Shantel.
Amelia read it once. Then again. The words didn’t change, neither did they soften. They didn’t reinterpret themselves into something harmless.
They remained exactly what they were.
Brief, calculated and shocking.
Across from her, Ryan had already stood up. He knew that look. He had seen Amelia under pressure, during negotiations, during crises, during last-minute legal twists. She didn’t freeze. She adapted.
But this? This was different.
“Amelia?” he called gently at first.
No response.
Her eyes were still locked on the screen, but she wasn’t blinking.
“Is everything okay?”
Silence again.
“What’s up?” he pressed, taking a cautious step
