(Elara POV)
The call comes at 11:47 a.m.
I know the number before I answer it.
"Ms. Moore," the woman says, professional but careful. "This is Rosewood Care."
My fingers tighten around the phone.
"There's been a change in your mother's condition," she continues. "The doctor wants to move forward with the next phase of treatment."
I close my eyes.
"How much?" I ask.
There's a pause. Just long enough to prepare me.
"Two hundred and eighty thousand," she says. "Upfront."
For a moment, I don't breathe.
Two hundred and eighty thousand… my heart sinks
Not over time. Not in parts.
Now!
"I… okay," I say, because I don't know what else to say. "I'll call you back."
When the line goes dead, the office feels unreal. The hum of printers. The low murmur of conversations. People worrying about meetings and lunches and things that can wait.
I open my banking app.
I already know the number.
Still, seeing it makes my chest tighten.
$37,000.
I swipe to another account.
$7000.
That's it.
My hands start to shake, so I tuck them under the desk and force them still.
I don't cry. I don't have time.
"Elara."
Vivienne's voice reaches me before I can recover.
She's standing beside my desk, composed as always, tablet tucked neatly under her arm.
"Yes?" I say, keeping my voice steady.
"I wanted to update you," she says pleasantly. "Your temporary reporting structure has been adjusted."
My stomach sinks. "Adjusted how?"
"You'll no longer be included in executive-level email threads," she replies. "Until the investigation concludes."
"That will delay my work," I say quietly.
Vivienne smiles. "Some delays are necessary."
I hesitate. "Mr. Hale assigned me directly."
"Mr. Hale assigned you to him," she cuts in smoothly. "Not to visibility."
There's no anger in her voice. No malice anyone could point to.
"You should focus on being careful," she adds. "Not ambitious."
She walks away before I can respond.
I stare at my screen long after she's gone.
By the end of the day, I've made three calls.
The hospital.
The bank.
A loan office that puts me on hold and never comes back.
Each one ends the same way.
Polite voices.
Soft apologies.
No solutions.
I leave work early for once.
On the subway, I sit instead of standing. My head rests against the window, the city blurring past in streaks of grey and light.
At Rosewood, my mother looks smaller than she did yesterday.
"You look tired," she says when she sees me.
I smile because she's looking at me like she needs that. "Long day."
She reaches for my hand, her grip weaker than it used to be. "You shouldn't do all this alone."
"I'm okay," I lie.
The lie tastes bitter this time.
When I leave, it's already dark.
Outside the building, I stop and press my forehead briefly against the cool glass.
Just one minute.
Just one minute to not be strong.
My phone vibrates. An internal notification.
Access Update: Executive Threads – Removed
I let out a shaky breath I didn't realize I'd been holding.
Vivienne didn't wait.
I walk toward the subway, my steps slow, my chest tight with everything I can't fix.
Two hundred and eighty thousand.
A job that's quietly shrinking around me.
A mother who still believes I can handle anything.
For the first time since I started working at Hale Industries, a thought slips in that scares me more than losing my job.
What if working harder isn't enough?
And what if the man who holds all the power decides I'm not worth the trouble?