Chapter 32
Ariel had always prided herself on precision. She knew where every file was stored, every letter categorized, every appointment accounted for. But now, her order took on a different shape.
The records she began keeping were not part of her usual tasks. They were separate, hidden in a plain folder tucked deep inside her desk drawer. Notes written in her careful hand, timestamps marking when Bruce’s phone chimed, when his mood shifted, when Lyra’s name slipped back into the conversation without ever being spoken aloud.
She did not know what end this record would serve, only that it mattered. To see the truth written plainly, to show someone, anyone, that the unraveling around Bruce was not chance but design.
The days passed in jagged rhythm. Bruce’s temper sharpened, his patie
