Lana's POV
The pestle kept moving, never pausing.
Even after Asher had left, even after the door clicked shut and the lab fell back into its usual stillness, my hands continued their work. Grinding, mixing, and measuring. The rhythm of it was the only thing keeping the panic at bay.
“Murdered.!!
That word had taken up residence in my mind, and I couldn’t shake it off. Every time I reached for a new herb or lifted a vial to the light, it lingered there, like a cold draft sneaking through a crack in the wall.
Whoever was behind this wasn’t careless. That was what scared me the most. Careless people made mistakes. They rushed, left traces, and got caught. This person was calculated and precise. They had seen the merchant as a threat, weighed the risks, and eliminated him cleanly before w
