The retracted article was a bandage on a wound that continued to bleed. The silence it left behind was not peaceful, but watchful. The board was cowed, the media temporarily wary. In the lull, the world seemed to hold its breath, waiting for the next tremor.
Elara threw herself into the notch. The "tree" redesign had moved from theory to reality. The central steel spine, now a graceful, branching structure, was being erected on the waterfront site. It was the one part of her life that felt pure a problem of physics and beauty, untainted by blood or betrayal. She spent her days in a hard hat, her tablet in hand, arguing with engineers about load-bearing curves and the filtration system for the living wall.
Kaelan gave her space. He was consumed with the legal minefield of the DOJ cooperat
