The follow-up meeting was scheduled for midday.
No agenda. No list of attendees. No confirmation beyond time and location.
Elara understood the message immediately.
This was not a negotiation. It was an evaluation.
The car that arrived was discreet, unmarked, driven by someone she hadn’t met before. Elliot did not accompany her.
He stood near the entrance as she prepared to leave, adjusting his watch with habitual precision.
“They won’t raise their voices,” he said. “They won’t threaten you directly.”
“I wouldn’t expect them to.”
“They’ll offer clarity,” he continued. “Framed as opportunity.”
“And if I decline?”
“They’ll pretend it was your idea.”
She nodded once.
“Good,” he said. “Then you’re ready.”
The drive took her outside the city’s center, toward a district built before
