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
Alicia's POV Daniel closed the door to what he’d called his workspace, a room with floor-to-ceiling windows and a desk so pristine it looked like a showroom display. The tour had been brief. He didn’t linger or oversell it. "And that's it," he said, turning back toward me. "Not much to see, reall
Alicia’s POV Sunday morning arrived pale and quiet. I sat on the couch, coffee cooling in my hands. Elena was in the armchair angled toward me, mug balanced on the armrest, untouched. Between us lay the folder. Brown manila. The type you’d use for taxes. Except it wasn’t taxes. We’d been like th
Edward's POV The estate looked the same as it always did, manicured hedges, perfectly aligned stone pathway, the kind of wealth that announced itself through restraint rather than display. I'd grown up here. Knew every room. Every corner. Every shadow. It still felt like walking into a trap. I p
“That’s not an easy thing to sort out,” he said. “Yeah.” “Especially when it’s been broken before.” I looked at him. He kept his gaze forward, face composed but knowing. “I’m not asking you to explain,” he added. “Just saying trust isn’t automatic. It shouldn’t be.” I turned back to the window,







