After I finished my meeting with Lilia, I stepped out of her office expecting nothing more than a quiet hallway and maybe a moment to breathe.
Instead, I saw Veronica.
She was standing just a few steps away from the door, arms crossed loosely over her chest, leaning back against one of the tall marble pillars like she had been there for a while.
When I stepped out and the door clicked shut behind me, her eyes shifted toward me. She didn't smile. She didn't frown. It was that same neutral, unreadable expression she always wore, like she had already figured out the answer to a question I hadn't even asked yet.
For a split second, neither of us moved.
Then she disappeared.
One moment she was by the pillar, and the next she was directly in front of me, so close that I instinctively took half a step back.
Before I could even say anything, she leaned in.
And sniffed.
