CLAIRE

We left the gym an hour later, my body exhausted but my mind clearer than it had been all morning. The drive back to Julian's penthouse was quieter this time, but it wasn't the heavy, suffocating silence from before. This felt different, like we were both gathering our strength for what came next.

Julian pulled into the underground parking garage and cut the engine, but he didn't move to get out right away. "You ready for this?" he asked, turning to look at me.

I thought about Vanessa's post, about all those people calling me crazy and unstable, about Ethan backing up her lies with his own fake concern....