CHAPTER 126 — WHEN NO ONE IS LEFT TO HIDE
The silence that followed responsibility was heavier than any crisis Elena had ever managed.
It was not the kind of silence born from fear or suppression. No one was being silenced. No orders had gone out. No narratives were being trimmed into something safer. This silence existed because people were thinking—slowly, carefully—knowing that whatever came next would belong to them alone.
Elena felt it the moment she woke.
There was no instinctive reach for updates. No reflex to brace for fallout. The system had learned a new rhythm, and it no longer beat to her pulse. That awareness did not unsettle her. It grounded her.
She dressed without hurry and walked the long corridor toward the central wing. The estate was awake, active, but unstrained. Conversations carried weight now. People spoke less, but when they did, they meant what they said.
Responsibility had stripped away excess.
That was its first cruelty.
And its first gift.
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