The wait was finally over.
Elara felt the weight of that realization as she listened to her assistant's full report. Jullian delivered every detail in a hushed, careful tone—starting from the day Lyra had vanished—and Elara hung on every word.
The lead regarding the Hudson branch had turned out to be a dead end; they were merely in the middle of a production shoot. Elara discarded that information the moment she realized they didn't have her Lyra. However, while there was no record of a girl by that name, Jullian had dug deeper. He found a match for a girl fitting Lyra's description—red hair and all—who had been seen leaving the port by ship around the same time she disappeared.
Because the destination was outside the city, Jullian had been hesitant to share the news, unsure of how it would affect her. But seeing Elara withering away, he felt he had no choice left. Perhaps this was better than letting her find Lyra through some unexpected, darker means.
