CHAPTER 99 — WHEN PRESSURE CREATES FRACTURES
Pressure did not always announce itself with force.
Sometimes it crept in through the margins—through delayed approvals, unanswered messages, the quiet withdrawal of people who once stood close enough to matter. Elena felt it in the pauses between conversations, in the way silence lingered longer than it should have.
Standing still was no longer an option.
But moving forward meant choosing where to apply weight.
The morning began with rain, fine and persistent, turning the estate grounds into muted shades of green and gray. Elena stood by the window of the main study, watching droplets slide down the glass in uneven lines. Each one followed its own path, intersecting, separating, reforming. She found the pattern familiar.
Marcus arrived shortly after dawn, his expression composed but focused.
"They're tightening the circle," he said without preamble.
Elena didn't turn. "Around us?"
