Chapter 40 Call Me Dante

• L A N A
• The room slowly empties out after the meeting ends, chairs scraping lightly against the floor as everyone stands and begins to file out one by one, conversations picking up in low voices as they leave, already moving on to whatever tasks Dante assigned them, and I stay seated even as everyone else leaves, watching it all happen while trying to process everything I just heard. It feels like I was dropped into the middle of a moving machine and expected to keep up without slowing it down, and even though no one said it directly, I know that is exactly what is expected of me now.
• Daniella is one of the last to leave, her eyes lingering on me briefly before she gives Dante a small nod, and then she is gone too, the door closing behind her with a quiet click that leaves the room feeling larger than it did before. A silence falls in the room, and I gulp quietly and turn in his direction, realising that it is now just the two of us... I sit there for a second, unsure if I should stand or speak or just wait, and listen as he exhales softly and leans forward slightly, resting his hands on the table.