The snow on the outer path crunched under light boots. Ella had shifted back, wrapped in a borrowed wool cloak that still smelled faintly of cedar. She didn't stop when she heard footsteps behind her—steady, unhurried.
Gilbert came into view, hands empty, shoulders relaxed. He reached as if to touch her arm, then stopped himself.
“I needed certainty," he said. “Leaks would have killed people. I refused to make you a suspect."
Ella kept walking. “You made me a bystander."
“I made you safe."
“I don't need safe if it means shut out."
---
He fell into step beside her, snowflakes melting in his hair. “I'm sorry," he said simply. “I'll change the process—open councils, shared briefs, fewer locked doors."
She stopped, turned toward him. “You think a new set of rules fixes the fact you did
