Mag-log in~ Selene ~“You look like a Moore again, Selene,” Aunt Helena said through the thick glass.I smoothed the front of my new silk scarf and smiled. I liked the feel of the fabric. It was soft and expensive. It was not like the scratchy wool coat I had to wear last week. I sat on the hard plastic chair. The chair was bright blue and bolted to the gray floor. The room smelled like strong bleach and old coffee. It was a gross smell that made my nose itch. I looked at Aunt Helena through the window. She was behind the glass in her orange jumpsuit. The color was ugly. Her skin looked pale and dry under the buzzing lights. But her eyes were still the same. They were sharp and cold like ice.“I feel like a Moore again, Auntie,” I replied into the black phone. “Chloe’s bank account has been very helpful. I have a real apartment now. I have a driver again. I do not have to walk in the rain anymore.”“Good,” Helena hissed. She leaned closer to the glass. Her breath made a small fog on the surface
~ Gideon ~ "You missed your lunch meeting, Gideon." Chloe sat in the big leather chair across from my desk. She was scrolling through her phone. She didn't look up at me. She looked very comfortable. She looked like she owned the desk, the chair, and the whole building. "I wasn't hungry," I said. I turned my chair to look out the window. The glass was clean and thick. Below us, Ravenport City looked like a toy set. The cars were like little ants. I used to like this view. I used to feel like a king looking down at his world. Now, I just felt like I was high up in a cage. My suit jacket was too tight around my shoulders. The air in the office was cold. It always felt like it had been through too many filters. It didn't smell like Linden Row. It didn't smell like flour or honey. It smelled like nothing at all. "You need to keep up with the schedule," Chloe said. She finally looked at me. Her eyes were sharp. "Rolan and the other board members are watching. They want to see the Chai
~ Amara ~The cardboard box on my passenger seat felt like a lead weight, pressing down on the worn leather of my car. It was a simple, brown container I had scavenged from the back of the warehouse, with flaps that refused to stay folded no matter how much I tucked them. I had attempted to seal it with a heavy roll of packing tape three separate times, but each time, I found myself ripping the tape away with a jagged motion. I needed to look at the contents one final time, as if seeing them would help me understand the man I was leaving behind in the rubble of my own hope.Inside were the small, broken remains of a life I truly thought we had started. I saw the blue ceramic mug with the tiny chip on the rim, the one we used every single morning for our bitter, black coffee in the quiet of Linden Row. I saw the thick blue sweater he used to wear while working at the bakery; threads of white flour were still caught in the rough wool of the sleeves. I even saw the small jar of honey Mr.
~ Amara ~ I gripped the edge of my oak desk. The wood was cool and felt solid. It was the only thing I truly owned. Outside, the warehouse yard was quiet. Usually, the air hummed with the sound of engines. Today, the blue trucks sat in a row. They looked like giant, sleeping beasts. Orange cones blocked their path. The City Safety Bureau had come back for a follow-up audit. It was the third one this week. Each one cost us money and time. My analyst, Sarah, walked into the office. She held a stack of red-stamped papers. “They found another discrepancy in the brake logs, Amara,” Sarah said. She set the papers down. Her hands were shaking. “That is impossible. Noah checked those logs himself,” I replied. I did not look at the papers. I knew what they said. “They don’t care. They said we are a high-risk firm. They’re increasing the daily fine.” “How much?” I asked. “Two thousand dollars. Every day the wheels don’t turn.” I leaned back in my chair. The leather creaked. It was a lone
~ Amara ~The ink on my fingertip was a dark, jagged stain. I tried to rub it off against the rough fabric of my coat, but it had already set into the lines of my skin. I stood on the sidewalk outside the Central Precinct, watching the red and blue lights of a departing squad car pulse against the wet brick walls. The rain had turned into a thick, low mist that tasted like salt and exhaust. Noah was inside, being processed for release. Gideon was back in his tower. I was here, in the middle, feeling the familiar coldness of the Moore shadow stretching over me again. I had signed the Discretionary Waiver on the steps of Helix Tower. It was a thin piece of paper, but it felt as heavy as the stone walls of Moore Crest.I walked to my car and drove toward Ms. Patel’s office. My hands gripped the steering wheel so hard my knuckles were white. The city moved past me like a blur of gray glass. I parked and took the elevator to the fourth floor. The office was quiet. The smell of old paper an
~ Amara ~ The shards of my "Honey Light" painting still lay on the floor of the studio. They looked like jagged blue teeth. I sat in the corner, staring at the wreckage of the only thing I had left that felt honest. My hands were stained with gray ash and Prussian blue oil. The room smelled like turpentine and the heavy, floral ghost of Chloe’s perfume. I wanted to move, but my legs felt like lead. Then, the phone vibrated on the hardwood floor. The sound was a dull, rhythmic thud that made my heart jump. I reached for it, thinking it was Noah. I thought he was calling to tell me he was back at the warehouse. "Amara? It's Sarah," my analyst's voice came through, thin and trembling. "What happened? Is Noah okay?" I stood up so fast the room tilted. "The police just called the office. They took him, Amara. He went to Helix Tower. They’re charging him with felony trespassing and aggravated assault. He’s at the Central Precinct." I felt the air leave my lungs. A cold, sharp panic set
~ Gideon ~I sat in my study, the leather chair creaking as I leaned back. The clock on the mantel read 1:00 AM. Amara's words still hung in the air, even though she had left two hours ago."I am done being the price other people pay."I picked up my pen, then set it down. I reached for the scotch
~ Amara ~The rain in Ravenport City didn't fall; it descended like a heavy, gray curtain, blurring the sharp limestone edges of Moore Crest until the estate looked more like a tomb than a manor. I stood by the floor-to-ceiling window in the library, my forehead pressed against the cold glass. Outs
~ Amara ~The hum of the refrigerator usually filled the silence of the kitchen, but tonight, the world was pitch black. A sudden summer storm had rolled over Ravenport, and with a final, violent crack of lightning, Moore Crest had plunged into darkness. I sat at the small breakfast nook, my hands
~ Amara ~I stood in the center of the vast, marble-floored kitchen, the silence of Moore Crest Estate pressing against my eardrums. Outside, the sun was beginning to dip below the horizon, casting long, skeletal shadows across the polished industrial surfaces. My stomach let out a hollow ache. I h







