Mara's POV

By the time we got back to the company, I convinced myself I was imagining things.

That it was only the trauma, the shadows left behind from that night, that made me think I had caught a familiar scent in the crowd.

I told myself I was fine. That I was just tired. That I was seeing ghosts in daylight.

But even as the elevator doors opened, the feeling didn’t fade. It clung to me, quiet and persistent, whispering that I was missing something.

When I reached my floor, I exhaled.

Elias’s office was dark. Empty.

Thank God.

I turned my key, stepped into my office, and shut...