The sharp click-click-click of Isabelle’s heels pierced through the sterile silence of J&A’s legal division like a metronome of dread. The marble floor reflected her brisk, almost frantic steps, catching the attention of several junior associates who paused in confusion. But Isabelle didn’t stop. Her blazer,long and well ironed flipped behind her like a cape caught in the wind, her breath ragged, and her chest heaving with every step.
She shoved open the glass door to Aria’s office with such force that it bounced off the wall.
Aria jerked her head up from the file she was reviewing. “Isabelle?”
Isabelle stood there, shaking. Her pale face, more full and her lips parted shaking, her usually sharp eyes now wide with sheer panic.
“He’s gone!” she gasped, her voice cracking into a low voi
