Serena Stanton withdrew her gaze without changing expression, stepping into the elevator. "First floor, thank you."
She stood quietly to the left of Adrian Shaw, facing the elevator doors.
No one spoke.
The car was utterly silent, not even the mechanical hum of the descending elevator. The bright lights, shining as if it were daytime, made Serena—who had been focused on work all day—momentarily disoriented, as if it were still day outside.
From the corner of her eye, she glimpsed the reflective elevator wall, catching a glimpse of the man's indifferent, cold-jawed profile. She silently looked away.
In the silence, the numbers on the floor display ticked down in steady rhythm, decreasing evenly to "1." The metal doors slid open automatically to both sides.
Unconsciously, Serena's hand tightened around her purse. Her heels hesitated for two seconds before, finally, she stepped out.
"Goodbye, Lawyer Stanton," Evan Hughes said with a smile.
