Seraphina did not return to Ashford Tower immediately. She remained seated in the car long after it had stopped, her hand still resting on the file Adrian had placed in front of her. The city moved around her in its usual rhythm, but everything felt distant, as though she were observing it from behind a layer of glass that separated her from the present.
Her death report lay open on her lap.
The paper had not changed. The details had not changed, but the meaning of it had shifted entirely.
It was no longer just a memory of what had been taken from her. It had become evidence, something Adrian now possessed, something he could use to dismantle everything she had built since waking up again.
Her fingers tightened slightly against the edge of the page.
The driver glanced at her in the rearview mirror. "Ma'am, should we proceed?" he asked.
Seraphina closed the file carefully. "Yes," she said. Her voice did not waver. However, the weight behind it had changed.
