Ava’s POV:
The door closes behind Daniel with a soft, deliberate sound. It’s not slammed. It does not echo. It simply seals, and the room adjusts around it as if this was always how it was meant to be.
Margaret doesn’t look surprised to see him. That alone tells me how coordinated this is. Theodore’s expression gives nothing away, but his attention sharpens, shifting fully onto me, like a lens snapping into focus.
Daniel steps farther into the room. He doesn’t rush. He never rushes. He moves with the quiet confidence of someone who believes he has already won something.
“Mrs. Blackwell,” he repeats, as if the title itself is leverage.
“I’m listening,” I say.
Margaret sits back slightly, folding her hands in her lap. She is letting him take this. That tells me this conversation benefi
