CHAPTER 124 — THE WEIGHT OF CHOICE
Morning did not arrive with clarity.
It arrived with hesitation.
The kind that lingered in corridors and offices, in half-written directives and delayed approvals. The system had crossed a threshold, and now it stood inside unfamiliar territory—functional, breathing, but no longer guided by instinct alone.
Elena sensed it before she saw it.
The reports that arrived that morning were fewer, but heavier. Not because of crisis, but because each decision now carried consequence that could no longer be deferred upward. There was no single name to absorb blame. No central figure to correct missteps before they became public.
Responsibility had weight now.
And weight changed posture.
She sat at the long table, sunlight cutting across the polished surface, illuminating documents that once would have been routed elsewhere. Marcus stood across from her, quiet, attentive. Adrian remained near the doorway, listening rather than watching.
