Chapter 80: The Consequences

I stood frozen, the phone still pressed to my ear long after Daniel had hung up. His words echoed in my mind: “This changes everything.” There was something in the way he’d said it, something I couldn’t shake. It wasn’t the threat of retaliation that scared me—it was the strange sense of satisfaction in his voice, like he had seen through me, through my mercy, and twisted it into a weapon I wasn’t prepared for.

I should have felt victorious. I’d made my move, and I was still in control—for now. But that gnawing feeling deep in my gut wouldn’t go away. This wasn’t over. It wasn’t even close.

As I pulled away from the desk, I caught sight of my reflection in the window. The city lights flickered in the glass, but the woman staring back at me looked haunted. Hollow. What have I done? I wondered, for just a moment, if sparing Daniel had been a mistake. Not because of the power it gave him, but because of the doubt it left in me. Was I strong enough to hold on to this control? Or had I alr