LOGINReynolds is smart; that’s the whole problem. He’s built his accusation on a lattice of “concern” and “unexplained deviations,” every line engineered to sound plausible while remaining deniable. No hard evidence, but just enough smoke for the board to believe there’s a fire. I grab a legal pad and s
He shrugs. “Consider it a professional courtesy. The real show will start in the morning. I thought you’d appreciate a head start.” He picks up my pen, twirls it between his fingers, leaves a shallow groove in the finish. “You’ve always been… unpredictable, Mara. But this?” He gestures to the letter
The city is a carcass picked clean by neon, the buildings outside my window hunched together in the rain like scavengers at a feast. Inside, the office is hermetically sealed, cut off from anything that bleeds or breathes. The only movement is the slow convulsion of my espresso machine’s dying last,
I nod, letting the tension crackle. “But you’re better at it.” He drops his gaze, only for a second. “Maybe. But not with you.” The moment holds, the air so dense it could shatter under its own weight. I let the wolf take the front seat, let her see if the evidence holds. She paces, circles, runs
Let them come for me, I think. Let them try. I let the clock tick down until the building is utterly dead, until the only proof of life is the pool of light at my desk and the relentless, arrhythmic snarl of rain against the windows. I think Lucas has left for good this time, that I can finally re
“You sabotage any of it?” I ask. My voice is two degrees colder than before. He nods. “When I could. I intercepted three wire transfers, rerouted them to an empty account and then reported it as a bank error. It cost them a month’s momentum.” He pushes another page forward—a receipt, a falsified no
The crosswalk sign flashes red as I approach, an unwavering command to stop, to wait, to hold. I heed it, just this once. There is no harm in pausing when I know what lies ahead. The penthouse is a world apart from the one I now move through, but I carry pieces of it with me, fragments of luxury an
The lock clicks behind me, each sound an echoing note of freedom. I inhale the promise of the morning and the heavy shroud of Derek’s latest message unfurls in the back of my mind. I will not think about it, about him, until I must. The weight of obligation falls away as I step forward, closing the
The first hum of traffic stirs beneath the apartment, the city awakening like a great beast stretching itself from slumber. I swing my legs over the side of the bed, bare feet meeting the warmth of the hardwood with practiced silence. In the hush, I hear the measured tick of my wristwatch from acros
My name commands attention, even whispered behind mirrored walls. Mara Wolfe. I sense the weight of their eyes on me, catch the reflection of their stunned admiration. Before my floor arrives, they already fear me. The girl with the coffee spills half of it on the way to her mouth, staining her bl







