"The financial markets open in Asia in 3 hours. If this breaks without context, without my voice framing it, our stock price will crater. Competitors will circle like sharks." Elena was already moving her strategic mind, overriding exhaustion and trauma. I need Amanda.
The communications team legal. We draft a statement, release it to major outlets with an embargo until 6:00 a.m. Eastern, and I do a live interview at 7:00. Elena, Marcus said quietly. You just survived a murder attempt. You're allowed to rest.
She looked at him, and for a moment, her mask slipped enough that he saw the bone deep weariness underneath. If I rest, I think about how close I came to dying. How Derek sat across from me in meetings for 2 years planning to kill me. how I trusted people who wanted me dead. Her voice wavered. I can't afford to think about that yet, so I work.
Marcus understood. He'd done the same thing after Melissa left. Burying himself in survival and single parenthood because stopping meant drowning in fear and abandonment. But understanding didn't mean he had to let Elena destroy herself. "Then I'm staying with you."
He said, "You work, I'm there. No arguments." Something softened in Elena's expression. "You should go home. Lily needs you."
"Mrs. Chen is with Lily. What I need is to know you're safe." Marcus stood, ignoring the protest from his bruised ribs. "You said yourself, you don't want to face this alone anymore, so don't." The look Elena gave him was complex.
Gratitude and vulnerability and something deeper that neither of them had time to examine, but she nodded. The next 4 hours were a blur of activity. Amanda arrived within 20 minutes, her professional composure intact despite being called in at midnight. The communications team assembled. Lawyers joined via video conference.
They crafted a statement that walked the razor's edge between transparency and damage control. Marcus stayed in the background, watching Elena command the room with the same authority she'd shown in every crisis. But now he could see the cost. The way her hands shook slightly when she thought no one was looking, the tightness around her eyes that spoke of pain, she wouldn't acknowledge. Around 3:00 a.m., during a brief pause while the lawyers reviewed language, Elena caught his eye and gestured toward her private office.
He followed, closing the door on the controlled chaos outside. "I can't do this," she said the moment they were alone, her voice breaking. Marcus moved to her immediately. "Yes, you can. You've been doing it for hours."
"I mean," she gestured between them, her eyes bright with unshed tears. I mean this whatever happened between us earlier, whatever we said, I can't think about it right now. Can't process what it means or what I want or how to fit something personal into a life that's about to become a media circus. The words hurt, but Marcus understood them. Okay.
Elena looked at him like she'd expected an argument. You need time, he said gently. space to handle the crisis without worrying about us. I get it. I'm not going anywhere, Elena. When you're ready to think about this, I'll be here.