Annakel
By the time they get back to the penthouse, Annakel’s adrenaline is gone.
What’s left behind is something colder and heavier.
Anger that has nowhere to go.
Fear that keeps trying to crawl back into her throat.
And a strange, unfamiliar pride that she didn’t fold.
She shattered glass. She lied convincingly. She stood her ground without Alexander in the room.
She survived.
The elevator doors open to Alexander’s corridor.
Inessa is waiting, face composed but eyes sharper than usual. “They arrived,” she says quietly.
Annakel’s stomach drops. “Who?”
Inessa glances past Annakel to Viktor, then to Alexander. “The second girl,” she says. “And your father is awake.”
Annakel’s chest tightens with relief and dread at once.
They step inside.
Edmund stands near the sofa, fully dre
