#Chapter 38: Stormglass

The morning broke to whispers—thick, low murmurs curling through the halls of the council chamber. Adam’s name hovered like smoke in the air, never spoken too loud, never spoken too soft. Officially, it was a “health-related withdrawal.” Unofficially, everyone knew better. The word ‘resigned’ wasn’t used, but it echoed anyway, traveling room to room like a ghost in a hall of mirrors. I walked the length of the east corridor, documents clutched in one hand, silence in the other. The door to Richard’s office was still closed. I slid the talking points I drafted—clean, neutral, firm—under the frame and moved on before anyone could ask questions. Let them wonder who wrote the words. Let them guess. Richard and Nathan were locked behind another set of doors, no doubt trying to distance the administration from the fallout. Adam had always been a convenient piece. Now he was a liability, and the game had changed. The council wanted stability, not scandal. And in a summit already straine