CHAPTER 94 — THE COST OF STANDING
The city did not sleep after Gabriel spoke.
It held its breath.
From the highest floors of glass towers to the quiet corners of private residences, conversations stalled mid-sentence, screens refreshed again and again, and decisions that had been postponed for years suddenly demanded answers. The world had not erupted—but it had shifted, and those who understood power knew that this was the most dangerous moment of all.
Elena felt it before she saw it.
She woke just before dawn, her body tense, her mind sharp, as if some internal warning had pulled her from sleep. The bedroom was dim, the curtains barely allowing the first light of morning through. Adrian lay beside her, awake, staring at the ceiling.
Neither of them spoke at first.
The silence was not empty. It was heavy with awareness.
"They'll move today," Adrian said finally.
Elena turned onto her side, propping herself up on one elbow. "Yes."
