Chapter 7

Elara's POV

I stand frozen in Lorenzo's office, Nina's gaze prickling against my skin. I hadn’t expected them to come back so soon. And if Nina was here already, then Lorenzo should be coming up soon.

Nina's smirk drops, and she narrows her eyes at me. "Cat got your tongue, Elara?"

Hearing my name from her lips makes my stomach turn. It's her fault I'm in this condition. Although, I'm glad because now I can prevent some other families from becoming homeless and jobless. Now I just need to figure out how to evade this sly snake.

Think, Elara. Think! "Well, I came to look for..." I trail off, my eyes darting around as I search desperately for anything that will make my lie believable.

Nina raises a brow. "Look for what in Lorenzo's office, Elara?"

My eyes land on some files sitting idly on his desk, and relief washes over me. "Some files I forgot in here, Nina. When he told me to work on the Portal project, I didn’t collect all the files."

As I say this, I scurry to the desk and p