The boardroom was colder than Emilia expected.
Not just the temperature the kind of cold that settled in your chest and made you super aware of your own breathing. Gray morning light slipped through the tall windows, dull and unforgiving, landing in long stripes across the table.
The research board sat round the table with hands folded and faces unreadable. No one smiled.
They were all watching her.
Emilia shifted her weight slightly. Her palms were damp with sweat. Beside her, John’s hand brushed against hers, then closed around it. He gave a small squeeze just enough to remind her she wasn’t alone.
“Breathe,” he murmured.
She did.
“Dr. Emilia Grey,” the chairman said, pushing his glasses higher on his nose. “You may begin.”
Emilia nodded and stepped forward. The sound of her sho
