There was a soft click.
Then another.
And then something I hadn’t expected to hear at all.
The sound of the lock disengaging.
For a second, I didn’t move, not because I didn’t understand what had happened, but because I didn’t trust it, because the shift from “not allowed” to “go ahead” felt too sudden, too fragile, like it might be taken back if I moved too quickly.
“Go,” Whitaker said quietly.
That was all it took.
I stepped forward, my movements slower than they would have been in any other situation, as if I needed to confirm with each step that nothing was going to stop me, that the space between us was truly open now. The door gave way easily, and just like that, the barrier that had defined everything a moment ago was no longer there.
Lila was right in front of me now, close enough that I could see the details I had missed before, the faint shadows under her eyes, the way her hands adjusted instinctively around the girls, the quiet strength in her posture that hadn’t wavered despite everything.
“Careful,” she said softly, though there was a hint of a smile in her voice.
