Nolan:
I heard the last of their voices fade as I stepped down the corridor, sharp words muffled behind a closed door, followed by silence so tense it felt like it cracked through the air.
Her mother brushed past me moments later, chin lifted high, eyes sharp. She didn’t acknowledge me, not beyond a stiff nod, but she didn’t have to. The look she gave was enough, disappointment, judgment, the kind of coldness only a woman trained to wield silence as a weapon could manage.
And when I walked into the room, Natalia was standing by the window, her back to me.
Her posture was stiff, hands gripping the edge of the desk so tightly her knuckles were white.
“Do you want to talk about it?” I asked quietly.
She didn’t answer right away. Just a shallow nod. “She came to remind me that I’m still
