Chapter 58: What the Cameras Decide

Alex’s POV

The building spits out people at five-thirty like it’s tired of holding them.

Assistants, analysts, security—everyone spills out of the glass company with their phones already out, jackets half on, lives resuming mid-step.

I leave later than most, because I always do, because silence after meetings feels earned.

The elevator ride down was empty. I loosen my tie, run a hand through my hair, and tell myself I’ll make it home in time to cook something simple.

Ariana likes simple when the world is loud.

The doors slide open.

Victoria is standing three feet from me.

Her coat is immaculate. It was cream colored wool, tailored sharp enough to cut and she’s holding a coffee she didn’t need. Her mouth curves into a smile that knows exactly how it reads from a distance.

“Alex,” she says, like my name is a door she expects to open. “We need to talk.”

My first instinct is to step around her. My second is to clock the angle of the building cameras, the line of sight from the curb, th