Elena's POV
I had spent a week in Sebastian's cabin—still avoiding him, in my own quiet, guilty way. I couldn't shake the weight in my chest—that hollow ache that came every time I looked at him and remembered the bullet.
I owed him. That was the truth. And maybe that's why I couldn't face him properly.
Then my phone buzzed.
A text from Mariah.
> They're here.
And they're saying bad things about you—how could a boss abandon the company for days to be with her lover?
They're calling a board meeting. They want to see you. Today.
My heart dropped.
Clarissa and Derick didn't wait. They'd walked into my company like they owned it.
And I had given them the silence to do it.
I stared at the screen, numb.
Lover. That word clung to me like smoke.
They were twisting the story already, bending it until it snapped. I'd been gone for seven days. Long enough to become a headline. Longer still to look irresponsible. And now, Clarissa and Derick were using it like a weapon.
