Celina rode the elevator down with her heart racing, her steps unsteady, as if her legs could no longer carry her weight. When she pushed through the revolving doors of Brown & Associates, daylight struck her eyes, forcing her to shut them for a brief moment. The air outside felt lighter than the suffocating tension she had just left behind on the upper floor.

The sharp sound of her heels echoed on the sidewalk as she walked away from the building. Her chest still heaved, her breath short and uneven. She felt like she had just escaped an ambush. Pressing a hand against her chest, she tried to steady her breathing.

“Calm down, Celina. Breathe. This is exactly what he wants—he wants to unravel you.” She whispered the words to herself, as if repeating them could restore her control.

The city rushed on around her, indifferent, while inside she was chaos. Her mind spun in a storm of thoughts:

César is watching my every move… He knows about the babies… What now? What if he tells Thor? What