The city exhaled after the interview.

Not loudly. Not in celebration. But in that subtle shift that came when a story stopped being speculative and became decided. Opinion hardened. Sides formed. And people who had once been comfortable watching from a distance began recalculating where they stood.

Amara felt it in the silence.

Her phone was unusually still the next morning. No frantic messages. No panicked calls from the board. Even the press seemed to hesitate, as if unsure whether another question would earn access or backlash.

She stood in the kitchen, sunlight pooling on the counter, tracing the rim of her mug with one finger.

This was not peace....