Chapter 25

• The loft felt unusually peaceful that morning, as if the walls themselves were holding their breath. Late winter light slipped in through the tall windows, softening the lines between day and night. Inside, the atmosphere was steady, but beneath that calm was the quiet hum of purpose. Simone was at the central drafting table, tracing a new pattern with deliberate precision, her brow focused yet gentle. Marcus was seated by the window, leaning over his laptop, eyes flicking between boutique messaging logs and preparatory notes for capsule eight. I moved through the space with a controlled calm that masked the tension I felt at my core.
• Julian sat at the far end, his posture open but upright, his gaze steady on an open notebook where he had started drafting potential outreach strategies. The notebook was blank in places, half-filled in others, like a map waiting to be drawn. We all sensed the magnitude of the moment. We had unearthed the truth about the manipulation surrounding my removal from the board. Now the board review was under way. We had to decide how to proceed quietly but assertively.
• I pulled in a slow breath and carried a small stack of papers from a hidden folder beneath my desk. They were organized meticulously: a timeline tracing travel calendar edits, email chains with their timestamps, notes from Julian’s financial cross‑checks. I set them down carefully, like placing stones on a foundation that had to hold everything to come.