Kate’s POV
The shredder was a beast.
It sat in the corner of my new office, a sleek, black industrial machine that looked more like a weapon than office equipment. Dante hadn’t been joking.
The note attached to it—“For the trash. - D”—was currently taped to my monitor as a reminder.
I fed a stack of Mr. Scott’s old "motivational" memos into the slot. The machine roared to life, devouring the paper with a satisfying, aggressive crunch.
"Mrs. Castello?"
I looked up, my new assistant, Leo, stood in the doorway looking terrified.
"Yes, Leo?"
"Your sister is on line one," he said, holding out the receiver like it might bite him. "She says it’s an emergency."
I sighed, the satisfaction of the shredding fading instantly. I picked up the phone. "Maddie?"
"Are you happy now?"
Her voice
