Ethan didn’t lash out.That was what everyone expected him to do some reckless public outburst, a messy accusation, a collapse played out in headlines.Instead, he did something far more dangerous.He went quiet.The silence lasted three days.Three days where no statements came from his office.Three days where his name stopped trending.Three days where the media, starved of reaction, began to move on.That was when Elara knew.“He’s planning something,” she said, standing at the window, watching traffic coil through the city like veins. “He’s never silent unless he’s positioning.”Adrian didn’t contradict her. He trusted her instincts more than his own when it