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chapter one hundred and thirty one
Grady’s voice cut through the low hum of conversation in the hall. “So that’s it? You’re just handing them choices and calling it leadership?”The room stilled. A dozen heads turned toward Elias, who was standing at the front, hands braced against the table. He hadn’t expected Grady to voice his doubt here, not in front of everyone.Elias kept his voice even. “I’m not handing them choices, Grady. I’m giving them responsibility. There’s a difference.”Grady crossed his arms, his tone sharp. “Responsibility without direction is chaos. You think these people know what to do if you stop steering? They’ll hesitate, they’ll doubt, and we’ll waste time we don’t have.”Murmurs rippled through the group, uncertainty spilling across faces that just moments ago carried determination.Elias straightened, his jaw tightening. “If all we give them is orders, then we’re no better than the systems we’re trying to replace. This has to belong to everyone. Otherwise, it dies the moment we step back.”Lan
chapter one hundred and thirty
Elias didn’t even hear Elise enter the room until she leaned against the doorway. “You haven’t moved in hours,” she said softly, though there was no gentleness in her eyes.He looked up from the scattered papers on his desk. “I’m working.”“No,” Elise said, walking closer. “You’re drowning.”Her bluntness stung more than he expected. He wanted to argue, but she was right. His thoughts weren’t sharp, his plans weren’t connecting—he was running in circles.“Elise,” Elias started, his voice low, “I told you last night I’d prove it. I burned the letter. I let it go. What else do you want from me?”“I don’t want you to just burn paper,” she snapped. “I want to see you stop hiding behind everything you can’t change. Mara’s shadow, Grady’s doubts, even Lana’s constant encouragement. You keep waiting for someone else to carry you forward, Elias. That’s not what leadership is.”He bristled. “And you think I’m not leading?”“I think you’re scared,” Elise said flatly. “Scared of failing. Scared
chapter one hundred and twenty nine
Elise didn’t move away, not even an inch. She stood there, her challenge hanging heavy in the air, her eyes fixed on Elias as though daring him to falter. Elias felt the weight of her words pressing into his chest. Prove it. Not with words. With what you do next.“I will,” Elias said quietly, almost to himself.Elise tilted her head slightly, waiting.Elias forced himself to breathe and crossed the room to the desk. He pulled out the drawer, the one he hadn’t opened in months. His fingers lingered before he set the object on the table: a folded letter, the edges worn from years of handling. Mara’s handwriting stretched across the front.Elise’s gaze fell on it instantly, her voice cold. “You kept it.”“I did,” Elias admitted. “Every time I felt like I was falling apart, I opened this drawer and stared at her words. I couldn’t let go of it, Elise. I thought if I did, I’d lose the last piece of myself.”“And now?” Elise asked, her tone sharp but not unkind.Elias picked up the letter, f
Chapter One Hundred and Twenty Eight
Elias sat at the desk long after Mara’s footsteps faded from the hallway. The air still carried the weight of her presence, heavy and impossible to ignore. His fingers tapped restlessly against the wood, his mind already circling back to the one truth he could no longer run from: Elise.The soft buzz of his phone on the table snapped him back. He glanced down. Elise.His chest tightened. He hesitated before answering, pressing the phone to his ear. “Elise.”Her voice was quiet, but there was an edge beneath it. “Can I come over?”Elias closed his eyes, forcing the air into his lungs. “Yes.”Minutes later, Elise stood in the doorway. She didn’t step inside immediately, her eyes searching his face as if trying to measure what had changed in the hours since she left.“You look like you’ve been through a war,” she said softly.Elias gave a humorless laugh. “Feels like it.”Elise finally entered, setting her bag on the chair but keeping her distance. “I need to know what’s going on. You’ve
Chapter one hundred and twenty seven
The silence after Elise’s departure stretched longer than Elias could stand. Every tick of the clock on the wall pressed into him, reminding him of what he had failed to say, what he had failed to do. He paced the room once, twice, before dropping heavily into the chair by the window.He should have run after her. He should have made her stay, explained better, explained everything. But the truth was he didn’t know if he even had the words. Not for her. Not for Mara. Not for himself.A soft knock at the door cut through his spiraling thoughts. Elias froze, his pulse jumping. He told himself it couldn’t be Elise returning—her footsteps had been too resolute when she left.When the knock came again, sharper this time, he rose, slow and reluctant, and pulled the door open.Mara.She stood there, her coat wrapped tightly around her, eyes flicking past him into the room like she was searching for signs of someone else’s presence. When she didn’t see Elise, her shoulders eased just a fracti
Chapter one hundred and twenty six
Elias didn’t answer immediately. His throat was tight, his thoughts scrambling, every word he wanted to say sounding either too little or too much in his head. Elise’s eyes were steady on him, searching, waiting, unwilling to let him off the hook.Finally, he drew in a slow breath. “She’s not right. At least… not in the way it sounded.”Elise’s arms stayed crossed, her posture sharp. “That’s not an answer, Elias. You let her in, you listened, you almost reached out to stop her leaving. If that’s not unfinished, I don’t know what is.”Her words landed with precision. He ran a hand over his face, dragging it down like he could pull the weight from his chest. “It’s not unfinished because I want her back. That’s not what this is. It’s unfinished because I never faced it. I buried it and pretended it was gone.”Elise didn’t blink. “And now?”“And now it’s at my door,” Elias admitted, his voice cracking at the edges. “And I don’t know how to explain that I needed to hear her, even if it hur
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