LOGINZane was finally catching up.
The anonymous emails had stopped after the third one—just enough information to point him in the right direction, then silence. He didn't know who had sent them, but he had his suspicions.
Nerissa.
Dawn light through the windows.Nerissa hadn't slept. She'd stayed in the chair beside his bed, watching. The fever had broken around 4 AM. His breathing had steadied. Color was slowly returning to his face.He opened his eyes.She was there. Looking at him.He blinked. Looked at her. At the chair pulled close. At the medical supplies on his nightstand. At her hands in her lap."You stayed," he said. His voice was rough."You almost died on your bed." Her voice was flat. "Someone had to watch."He said nothing.She leaned
The apartment was quiet.Nerissa sat on the couch, her laptop open, the Harrington numbers pulled up on her screen. She'd been here for forty minutes, working through the final projections, waiting.The elevator chimed.She looked up.The doors opened. Vance stepped out.He walked in slowly. Too slowly. His movements were careful, deliberate—like he was measuring each step. His face was composed, controlled, but something was off. The set of his shoulders. The way he held his left arm slightly away from his body.He didn't look at her. Walked to the large window. Stopped with his back to her.
The elevator hummed as it rose.Nerissa stood on one side, her tablet in her hand, scrolling through the final presentation notes. Vance stood beside her, hands in his pockets, watching the floor numbers tick past."The Harrington team is expecting the full sustainability breakdown in the first ten minutes," she said. "Zane's portion comes after.""I've seen his slides." Vance's voice was neutral. "They're solid."She glanced at him. "You reviewed them?""He sent them over last night. I wanted to make sure there were no surprises."She looked back at her tablet. "And?""And
The morning air was cold against her skin.Nerissa walked toward the Astera Spire entrance, her bag slung over one shoulder, her heels clicking against the pavement. The building rose ahead of her, glass and steel, catching the pale morning light. Normal. Familiar. Safe.A hand grabbed her arm.She turned.It was Zane.He was standing there, his hand wrapped around her arm just above the elbow. His face was pale, his eyes red-rimmed. He looked like he hadn't slept. His fingers were cold against her skin—he'd been waiting out here, maybe since first light, his body chilled by the morning air."Why?" His voice was rough. Cracked. "Why are you doing this to me?"
Zane came home at his usual time.The apartment was dark. He flipped on the kitchen light, set down his bag, and checked his phone. No messages from her. That was normal. She was probably still at work.He started dinner. The thing he always did now. Chopping vegetables, heating the pan, moving through the motions. He'd gotten good at it. At pretending everything was normal.He set the table. Two plates. Two glasses. The same ritual.Seven o'clock passed.Seven thirty.Eight.He checked his phone again. Nothing.Maybe she
The penthouse was quiet.Vance stood by the window in his study, looking out at the city. Lights flickered across the skyline. The hum of traffic rose from below, muffled by glass and distance.Behind him, the door opened.Jovi.She stood in the doorway, arms wrapped around herself. She'd been crying again. She was always crying now."We need to talk," she said.He didn't turn. "I'm working.""This is more important than work."He turned then. Looked at her. Face unreadable.
The printed email sat on my keyboard. I picked it up. The words were careful, but the meaning was clear. Chen was trying to cause doubt. He was trying to hurt the project, and to hurt me.The handwritten question mark at the bottom was the only note. It wasn't an order. It was a test.I didn't feel
Zane stood in the doorway of her office, breathing hard like he’d run here. He was wearing jeans and a wrinkled t-shirt under his open coat. He looked completely out of place against the clean glass and sharp lines of her workspace.Her first feeling was a hot flash of violation. This was her space
The town car came at 8:45 the next morning, just like the note said it would. She was ready. The suit was black, the sort that doesn’t show wrinkles or weakness. Her hair was pulled back tight. She looked at herself in the hall mirror. The woman looking back had hollows under her eyes, but her jaw
Three days after I put the contract in front of Zane, a courier delivered a sealed envelope to my office. Inside was a single sheet of paper. The signed signature page. Zane’s familiar, loose handwriting was at the bottom.He had taken the deal.I filed the paper without feeling anything. It wasn’t







