Vera’s POV

From the very moment I walked into my company building, I knew that something was wrong. The atmosphere shifted the moment I got in. It wasn’t loud, but it was obvious.

Something had gone wrong, and even though I didn’t see any overt stares, I was pretty sure that everyone was looking at me more times than they usually did. Joe noticed too, because he inched closer to me as I stepped into the elevator, and the ride itself took longer than it usually did.

Joe stood tightly beside me in silence, and his eyes kept on darting around. He was alert, and I could tell that he...