Chapter 34 Breaking Point

• The elevator dinged, and Aurelia stepped out into the marble-floored lobby of Maddox Industries for the first time in over a week. Her heels clicked softly, each step steady despite the thrum of anxiety running under her skin. Heads turned—some curious, others avoiding her gaze entirely—but she ignored them all.
• Her cubicle felt the same. Impersonal. Sterile. As if nothing had changed, even though everything had.
• She’d insisted on coming back. Insisted on facing the world instead of hiding from it. But even now, even surrounded by familiar walls, her nerves prickled beneath her skin.