The warehouse fell silent.
Elara stood over Michael Chen's body, her hands still trembling from the gunshot. The echo of the blast seemed to hang in the air, a ghost that refused to fade. She had killed a man. She had taken a life. And no matter how justified it was, no matter how monstrous Chen had been, she couldn't escape the weight of what she had done.
Julian was at her side in an instant, his arms wrapping around her, pulling her against his chest. She could feel his heart pounding, could feel the tremor in his hands as he held her.
"Look at me," he said softly, his voice cutting through the fog in her mind. "Elara, look at me."
She raised her eyes to his, and what she saw there made her breath catch. There was no judgment in his gaze, no horror at what she had done. There was on
