POV: Dante
When Lina leaves, the floor feels different.
Without her sarcasm floating through the hallway, everything smells like an expensive hospital again, steel and worry. But what stays with me most is the phrase she threw at me before saying goodbye:
"If one day you're more concerned with beating Valcourt than with what Aury wants, stop."
She has no idea how many times I've been on the verge of crossing that line.
I return to my office, two floors above. Sebastian is waiting for me with the screen on and a look of bad news on his face.
"Mail from the foundation has arrived," he says bluntly. "It's marked high priority."
I approach him. The subject line reads: "Situation of Aurora Vega / Seraphim Project."
I open it.
The text is impeccable, full of soft phrases that hide knives.
"We have decided to temporarily suspend Ms. Vega's participation in Seraphim until her medical situation and the environment of influence in which she finds herself are clarified."
