“How—?”
Buzz.
Buzz.
Buzz.
Buzz.
I turned at last, and the truth landed like impact.
The sound had been coming from my phone.
Damien’s name glowed on the screen—an incoming call.
My stomach dropped.
I answered before my brain fully caught up. “Hey.”
“Jesus Christ, Emma,” he breathed—tight, frayed, more alarmed than angry. “I’ve been calling for an hour. I was minutes away from driving to your place myself.”
Guilt twisted low in my gut. “I’m still at Elion,” I said, the reality settling in like cold water.
A beat of stunned silence. Then, softer—”Why?”
I swallowed, pressing trembling fingers to my temple. “Margaret called this afternoon. After the meeting. She told me Davidson’s pushed for a preliminary audit,” I explained. “He’sclaiming volatility, leadership strain, missed deliverables—we both know none of that’s true—but he doesn’t care about true.”
I exhaled shakily, staring at the mess of numbers on my screen. “Margaret said his father’s money is tied up. The estate’s in litigation. He needs liquidity, and the fastest way to justify pulling out is by manufacturing instability. The audit lets him claim he’s being ‘responsible.’”
Damien didn’t speak.
I couldn’t tell if he was absorbing it or trying not to explode.
“And if word spreads internally…” The words cracked despite my best attempt to control it. Tears welling in the inner corner of my eyes. “People will panic. They’ll think I’m hiding problems. They’ll think we’re failing. They’ll think I’m failing.”
Still nothing from his end of the line. Only the sound of his breathing—tight, uneven, like he was pacing or bracing himself against something violent.
“Are you alone?”
“Yes,” I answered, voice hoarse.
Another beat.
“Are you okay?”
No.
Absolutely not.
But my mouth moved before I could stop it. “I’m fine,” I heard myself say, phone shaking against my ear.
“Emma,” he said again, slow, deliberate, threaded with worry he couldn’t hide, “stay on the phone with me.”
Chapter 25
***
Emma
