Chapter 48 I Handled it

***Hazel***

I don’t rush back to my desk.

That would look like relief.

Instead, I walk in at my normal pace, heels steady against the marble floor, spine straight, expression neutral. The kind of calm that only comes after you’ve already burned through the panic and come out the other side sharper.

The office feels different.

Not loud. Not quiet.

Watchful.

Heads lift. Conversations pause. Someone