Elena's POV
"Elena?"
I slammed the folder shut so fast the edge caught my thumb, a thin line of pain barely registering against the roar of my own pulse. Ruth stood a few feet away, tilting her head, a stack of newly signed forms balanced against one hip.
"You're white as a sheet," she said. "What happened?"
"Nothing." The word came out too fast, too high, and I forced my hands flat against the desk to stop them from shaking. "Paper cut."
Ruth's eyes narrowed, not quite buying it, but the lockdown alert chose that exact moment to blink off across every screen on the floor, replaced by a cheerful all-clear notice, and the sudden shift in atmosphere gave her something else to focus on.
"Finally," she muttered, already turning toward the nearest window like she could visually confirm th
