Elena's POV May held nothing back. She told Eric everything—the alley, Mark's words, his hands on me, the threats. Every detail I couldn't bring myself to speak. I stood there, soaked and shivering, letting her voice fill the silence because my own had abandoned me. My mind raced with terrible questions. Would Eric see me as trouble now? A liability he couldn't afford? Would this be the thing that made him tear up our contract and send me back into the world I'd barely escaped? When May finished, Eric turned to her with an expression I couldn't read. "Thank you," he said quietly. "You did the right thing." Then he gestured to the driver of the black sedan that had brought us. "Please see her home safely." May hesitated, her eyes finding mine. Worry etched her features, but she forced

