Chapter Fifty-Five: The Edge of Something

The problem with suspicion was that it never let you rest.

Even when you tried to move on, it whispered in the back of your mind, tapping at your conscience like a leak in the ceiling—slow, persistent, impossible to ignore.

Callie had been trying for days to shut that voice down. She told herself to focus on inventory reports, team scheduling, and the logistics of the upcoming promotional event Corporate had dumped in their laps.

But even as she counted floor decals and coached Naomi through display assembly, her mind circled back to Eli.

More specifically, what he wasn’t saying.

It had been four days since she cornered him in the office. Four days since he stood there, silent, when she’d laid everything bare.

And still, he hadn’t told her anything.

But he didn’t deny it either.

That was the part that stuck with her.

No lies. No excuses. Just quiet guilt that looked a lot like confirmation.

Cal