LOGINI 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
"No. I was just... sitting." “Good. I need to ask you something—and I want you to hear me out before you say no.” I frowned. "Okay." "I want you to come to dinner tonight." A weight settled on my chest. "Dinner?" "At the Valentine Family estate. Seven o'clock." I stood. "Margaret, I—" "Bef
Alicia's POV I wheeled Lily into the consultation room. Parked her chair beside the examination table. The room smelled like disinfectant. Strong. Chemical. Lily shifted in her wheelchair. "You okay?" "I'm fine." "You're doing that hovering thing." "I'm not hovering." "You are." The nurse ca
Alicia's POV The cab pulled up to the apartment just as the sky turned that soft purple-gray before dark. I paid the driver. Got out. My legs felt shaky. The last three hours replayed in fragments. The hospital. Edward's face. Getting Lily home. My mother's questions. Lily's guilty silence. I w
Alicia's POV It took a while before I realized my hands had stopped shaking. That was the first thing I noticed. Walking through that door, handing Edward the envelope, crossing the room under every pair of eyes—all of that had cost me. But now I was here. Seated. And my hands were steady on t







