Elara's POV
I set the phone facedown on the table and slowly breathed in, then out.
Something shifted inside my chest.
It didn't break. It felt more like something that had been stretched tight for years had finally loosened. There was no sound, but I felt it all the same.
It wasn't just relief.
Something older lay beneath it—something tired, distant, and faintly painful.
But I could handle it.
And whatever it was, I wasn't going to let it touch anything in this room.
Without a word, I turned the phone over and slid it across the table to Victoria.
She read the message.
For one brief moment, her usual practiced composure softened. She reached across the table and touched my cheek, the gesture warm, fleeting, and completely unlike the woman I knew.
"You've endured a great deal,"
