Peter did not speak as he led Caro through the private hallway.
The message on his phone had changed everything. A few minutes earlier, he had stood before cameras and defended her without hesitation. Now his shoulders were rigid beneath his suit jacket, and his silence felt sharper than any accusation.
Caro followed him toward his office, her pulse pounding in her ears. She had imagined this moment too many times. She had feared it from the day she first walked into Lawson Holdings under a name that was not fully hers. Yet when the truth finally came close, she was not ready.
Peter opened the door and stepped aside.
"Inside," he said.
His voice was calm, but it carried no warmth.
Caro entered slowly. The office was dim except for the late afternoon light spilling through the tall windows. The city below looked distant and unreal. On Peter's desk sat the silver letter opener his father had once used, beside a framed photograph turned face down.
