The drive back across the Manhattan Bridge was spent in a suffocating, heavy silence that even the limousine’s maximum climate control could not cool. Elena sat with her spine rigid against the leather seat, her eyes fixed on the gray waters of the East River below. The ghost of Ethan’s presence—the sheer, overwhelming weight of him trapping her against the hospital wall—still vibrated against her skin.
Across from her, Ethan was an island of absolute ice. He had pulled a fresh silk tie from the vehicle’s hidden console, knotting it with a flawless, clinical precision that seemed to erase the raw, protective warlord who had just bent a municipal judge to his will.
"The Manhattan facility has confirmed your mother’s secure arrival," Ethan announced flatly, his thumb swiping across his enc
