Not long after, the SUV pulled up in front of her apartment building — familiar, yet somehow altered now, as if the city itself had taken a breath and waited with her.
The moment the engine quieted, Maya felt her stomach twist. Relief warred with hesitation, and woven between them was the fragile thread of the morning everything changed. The deception. The fear. The pain. It lived in her, still — but so did something new. Something steadier.
For a few seconds, she didn’t move.
Then James, ever composed, turned slightly toward her. His voice, low and calm, carried the quiet weight of someone who understood more than he let on.
“It’s alright,” he said gently. “You’re safe now. We’ve made sure of that.”
Those words—simple, steady—wrapped around her like armor she didn’t know she needed.
