She goes to the gallery.
It's been three weeks since she left the penthouse, and she hasn't contacted anyone about Hayes Maritime or her position on the board or any of her previous life. Cass, the gallery director, calls her at the safe house.
"I was starting to think you'd abandoned us," Cass says. "Where have you been?"
"Escaping," Elara says. "I left Viktor."
There's a pause—the kind of pause that suggests Cass is processing more than just the words.
"Good," Cass says finally. "That man was slowly killing you. Come to the gallery. We need to talk."
Dante drives her. He waits in the car while she goes inside because they've learned that his presence is distracting to people, and Elara needs to do this alone.
The gallery is exactly as she left it—white walls, track lighting, the s
