Melissa’s heart pounded against her ribs like a war drum as she stepped off the elevator on the 28th floor. The corridors here were quieter, reserved for executive meeting rooms and higher-ups. The employees she passed were polite—nodding, even smiling—no suspicion in their eyes. For once, she wasn’t a caricature of obedience or mockery. No one whispered about her, no one glanced at her awkwardly.
She breathed in that anonymity as if it were clean air after months in a prison cell. This was her chance.
But alongside the rush of possibility, fear gripped her. She pictured what would happen if Alec found out. Not just humiliation, but revenge—his brand of punishment could break her entirely. Still, his tyranny had done far more damage already. This was about her father—lying in that hospit
