Chapter 9
The weeks that followed were quiet.
The organization fractured. The truth spread fast. Betrayal had a way of unraveling everything.
I didn't fight to keep control. I stepped back. Let the honest ones take charge. Built something new. Something better.
I went back to the diner one rainy afternoon.
It was busy. Warm. The smell of coffee and pie.
I scanned the room.
She wasn't there.
I walked up to the counter. Spoke to the older man wiping it down.
"Elena?" I asked.
He stopped. Looked at me strangely.
"Elena?" he said. "She left that night. Never came back."
He leaned in.
"You're the one she helped, aren't you?"
I nodded.
"She told me," he said quietly. "Said she'd done what needed doing. Said she couldn't stay. Not after what happened."
May you like
He handed me a small envelope.
"She left this for you. Said you'd come looking."
