The morning after the encrypted warning call arrived, there was an unfamiliar kind of stillness.
Ashford Tower had spent months breathing in crisis. Market alerts, legal countdowns, board confrontations, and Adrian's relentless pressure had turned every hour into a measured response. Yet for the first time in what felt like far too long, the executive floor was quiet.
The Helios Accord remained stable under Maris's oversight. The market had opened without panic, no emergency calls waited on Lucien's desk, and no legal teams filled the strategy room.
The silence should have felt temporary. Instead, it settled into the shared office with an ease that felt strangely lived-in.
Seraphina arrived just after seven.
She expected the familiar sight of Lucien already working behind the expanded strategy desk, screens lit with overnight reports, and his first coffee untouched at his right hand.
What she did not expect was breakfast.
