INICIAR SESIÓNI ordered wine. The work wasn't finished. The room was quieter. She took the glass without comment. Drank. Set it down and kept writing. She spoke about the eastern corridor communities directly, without framing or adjustment, as if they existed in the room with us. Her hand moved as she talked, m
Edward's POV The door opened behind me. No knock. She came in already talking. "I need your numbers from Rotterdam before we fix anything else," she said. "The version you gave him assumes—" She stopped. I didn't turn immediately. Just reached for the towel, dragged it once over my face, then
The auctioneer's cadence moved through the wall. I had built something without him. That was still true. It would stay true. Whatever I said next didn't touch it. "I don't know," I said. "That's the honest answer. Not the managed version." I met his gaze. "I don't know if what's left is enough to
Alicia's POV The older man was still talking. "Seven years," he said. "Four jurisdictions. We moved water infrastructure across borders that hadn't spoken to each other in a generation." His hands traced corridors in the air between us. "The archive is the proof it happened. That it worked." He tu
“You entered without cause,” I said. “You stayed without one.” “I don’t know what this is between you two but—” “My wife.” No variation in tone. No additional weight needed. Alicia’s hand lifted a little, then halted mid-motion and settled again without completing the gesture. The woman exhaled
Edward’s POV “Forty thousand. Do I have forty-five?” The paddle was already raised. Alicia’s hand remained under mine, unchanged in position, as though neither of us had adjusted to its presence since it settled there. “Forty-five.” I raised. “Fifty. Fifty-five.” On the left, a man leaned forw
Edward's POV I stood there. Couldn't move for a second. Then a full beat passed and it felt heavier than it should. My eyes followed her. Alicia. The way she tilted slightly. Elena's hand on her elbow holding her steady. She didn't look at me. Not once. My fingers balled into fists. I felt the t
The apartment was dim when I got back. I didn’t bother with the lights. Evening slid in through the curtains, turning everything the color of old photographs. I still hadn’t unpacked. My bag sat by the wall, half-open, clothes wrinkled from the drive and the days before it. I hadn’t touched them. I
He didn't speak. Didn't move. Just stared like seeing me like this broke something he wasn't prepared to carry. Elena's voice cut through the quiet. Fierce. "Don't act confused. You ignored her for days. She survived that alone. Showing up now doesn't erase any of it." The air tightened. Edward
Edward’s POV I woke to silence. Not the soft kind that lets you breathe. This silence had edges. Weight. No Alicia moving through the house. No footsteps. No proof that anything in this mansion still answered to me. The light spilling across the bedroom felt too bright. Too accusatory. She'd dest







