Chapter 33

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.