The day after Serena’s return to Brighton began like any other, until she noticed the stares.

At first, it was subtle. A hushed giggle as she passed by. A glance that lingered too long at the elevator. Two assistants whispering by the coffee machine, their phones angled ever so slightly away when she looked their way.

Serena tried to brush it off. She’d been the center of gossip before. That came with power, especially the kind she used to hold. But there was something different in the way they looked at her now, something sharper. Pity. Curiosity. Judgment.

By the time she returned to her office, the whispers had grown...