The workday at the factory felt suffocating.
Sofia stared at the flashing cursor on her screen, her mind a chaotic battlefield. She should have been relieved—Alaric had finally let her go. She was getting her own apartment, her own life, her own space.
But the puzzle pieces wouldn't fit. Every time she tried to lock the label villain onto Alaric, the image of that single tear rolling down his cheek shattered the idea. If he truly was the mastermind behind everything, why had he looked like a man who had just lost his entire world?
By noon, the office walls felt like they were closing in on her.
Needing air, she slipped out of the building and walked three blocks until she found a quiet, sunlit restaurant.
She sat at a corner table, staring blankly at the menu, her thoughts miles away.
