I told Thomas I needed another meeting.
He did not argue this time.
That worried me more than if he had.
“Do what you need to do,” he said while staring at the television.
There was something different in his voice. Not anger. Distance.
I packed lighter this time.
As if I already knew the way.
The drive to Halston City felt less intimidating. I noticed things I had missed before. The gradual change in architecture. The increasing density of traffic. The subtle shift in how people moved with purpose.
When the skyline appeared again, my chest tightened in a way that felt almost like relief.
The Montierre did not intimidate me this time.
I walked through the lobby without hesitation.
He was not waiting in my room.
He was waiting in the lobby.
Standing near the windows. Hands in h
