~Lorenzo~
The penthouse foyer felt like a battlefield, Alessia's words hanging like shrapnel. Her back was to me, shoulders rigid, the door's latch a barrier I couldn't breach.
I crossed the space in three strides, my hand on her arm turning her gently but firm. "Alessia, wait. Yelling fixes nothing."
She wrenched free, eyes blazing like embers in a gale.
"Yelling? That's your domain, Ren... barking orders, and slicing lives without a flinch. Jake's ruined, and you justify it as 'safeguard'? It's callous, and it's breaking us!"
The accusation landed heavy, guilt twisting within me.
"Callous? Every cut is to preserve the greater good... the jobs, legacy, and our future. You think I relish it? This role devours mercy."
"Our future?" she scoffed. "What future? You're a vault filled with secrets on health, on the probe, and on everything. I pour in, you lock tight. If that's partnership, then it's suffocating to me!"
