Time passed without incident, and the absence became its own kind of tension.
Caroline kept waiting for the next sign—an unknown number to call, a note under the glass, a fresh reminder that someone had been close enough to learn her life. Nothing came. A day became three. Three became a week.
On the surface, life resumed its shape.
Which only made her more aware of how easily that shape could be shattered.
She did what prison had taught her: keep moving without advertising fear.
Every morning, she left at the same time. If a vehicle idled too long at the curb, she noted it and kept going. Ordinary faces were everywhere. That was the problem—ordinary was camouflage.
At Valorith, the pressure didn't vanish.
Her access remained limited in small, strategic ways. But there were no me
