The video froze and Elena replayed it immediately. Once. Twice. Three times. The grainy conference room footage remained unchanged. Marcus stepped into frame carrying a tablet beneath one arm. He glanced toward someone positioned outside the camera's angle. Then said again: “Adrian is almost ready."
The clip ended abruptly. Elena stared at the dark screen. Ready for what? Her office suddenly felt too quiet. Too small. The city stretched beyond the glass walls of Carter Holdings, alive and indifferent, while her entire understanding of the past shifted beneath her feet. She closed the laptop. Then opened it again because denial had never been one of Elena's coping mechanisms. Truth mattered more than comfort. Always.
She picked up her phone. “Claire."
Her assistant answered immediately.
