Elle’s POV
I watched her leave, her heels echoing down the hall. Every instinct I had screamed that she was up to something. She wasn’t just playing office games anymore, this was personal.
That night, I picked up Amelia from school myself. She ran into my arms like always, laughing about a drawing she’d made. I held her tighter than usual.
“Mommy, you’re squishing me!” she giggled.
“Sorry,” I said, kissing her cheek. “I just missed you.”
At home, she drew at the table while I cooked dinner. For the first time in days, the house felt warm again, normal. She hummed a tune from her cartoons. I watched her for a while, memorizing every sound.
After I tucked her into bed, I stood by the window and looked out at the dark street. A car idled across the road, headlights off. I couldn’t see
