The atmosphere stiffened for a moment. Lucas looked left and right, his intuition telling him it would be best not to cut in at this time. Stella was calmer. She seemed to have long grown used to power struggles in meeting rooms and in life. The only difference was that here, there were no contracts or shares to cover up greed. Everything was far more naked.
Emily had remained silent until now, and only then did she speak in a low voice: “It’s almost dark. If we’re bringing them back, we should leave soon.”
When Ethan heard her voice, he glanced over. Their gazes met for a very brief moment before separating again. He said nothing more, only turned around: “Follow me. Keep your distance and don’t mess up the trail.”
Lucas immediately helped Stella pick up their few belongings. In truth,
