Elena's POV

A week can change everything. The company that once pulsed with Damian's energy now felt sterile, controlled - like someone had drained all the oxygen and replaced it with silence. Ethan's silence.

He ruled from Damian's glass office as if he'd been born for it.

The staff smiled tighter. Security followed me down corridors I'd walked freely for years. The whispers were the worst - words like traitor and mistress floating behind my back like shadows.

I kept my head down, typed, ...