Alexis didn’t answer right away. She stared at the edge of the desk, her jaw tight, as if weighing something she didn’t want to say out loud. The silence stretched. “Mrs. Dunst,” the lawyer said, gently now, “if you walk away from all of that, there’s no going back.”
“I understand,” she said. He watched her for a moment longer. “Why?” Alexis exhaled slowly. Then she spoke — quietly, deliberately. The lawyer didn’t interrupt. He didn’t take notes. His expression changed almost imperceptibly, the way it does when a conversation shifts direction entirely.