“My work keeps me moving.”
“That was not my question.”
I understood.
For years, I had believed protecting people meant arriving when danger became visible.
Elena had taught me that absence could create its own kind of danger.
“I’ll stay,” I said.
She nodded, accepting the answer without ceremony.
Before leaving the room, she placed the old foundation key in my hand.
Our father had given it to her when she became director.
Victor had taken it from her and kept it in his safe.
“I don’t need you to carry this for me,” she said.
“I know.”
“I just need to know you’ll be here if I ask.”
I closed my fingers around the key.
“I will.”
Elena walked back into the lobby alone.
Staff members straightened as she approached, not because they feared her, but because they recognized her authority.
She had once hung helpless above a concrete floor while Victor declared that he owned her breath and her soul.
Now every step she took belonged only to her.
