Chapter 103

Sylvia's POV As soon as I stepped out of my mother's office, I didn't stop to breathe—I just headed straight for the parking garage and slid into my car like I was trying to outrun the whole damn day. The second the engine roared to life, I gripped the steering wheel tighter than necessary, my knuckles turning bone-white. Concrete and steel blurred past as I pulled out of the Howling Peaks corporate lot, but no amount of speed could shake the heaviness sitting on my chest. Then came the red light. Of course. I slammed the brakes harder than I needed to, and the car jerked to a stop. The silence inside the cabin was deafening. That's when the replay started—the one scene I couldn't get out of my head, like a scratched-up record looping the same line over and over. The boardroom had smelled like cold stone and judgment. My mother sat at the head of the table, the Frostline seal gleaming behind her like a brand. Selene stood beside her, arms crossed, expression as unreadable as always—but