CHAPTER 2

Roxanne's POV

The drop from thirty stories up was a quick way to die, but staying inside that penthouse meant taking a bullet to the brain.

Rain lashed against my face like tiny needles as my fingers scrambled for purchase on the wet aluminum fire escape. The metal ladder rattled violently beneath my weight, slick with oil and autumn sludge. My boots slipped on the second landing, my left knee slamming hard against the sharp grating. A hot line of pain flared up my leg, but I bit down hard on my lower lip until the metallic taste of blood filled my mouth.

I couldn't stop. Not now. Not when every shadow cast by the flickering streetlamps below looked like an executioner waiting to collect.

By the time I hit ground level, sliding down the final rusted bars into a narrow, suffocating alleyway behind Crimson Heights, my lungs were burning. I dragged myself against the slimy brick wall, gasping for air that tasted entirely of exhaust fumes and freezing drizzle. My heavy-duty cleaning jumpsuit was torn at the knee, soaking wet, and freezing cold against my skin.

I pulled my hood down lower, shoving both hands deep into my pockets. My fingers brushed against a small, hard object tucked securely inside the inner lining of my jacket. I pulled it out.

The USB drive.

The tiny black plastic shell felt impossibly heavy, like holding a live grenade by the pin. This little piece of tech contained the raw, unedited security footage of Ethan’s final moments—and the faces of the men who put a bullet through his chest. It was the only insurance policy I had left in a world that had suddenly decided I didn't exist, or worse, that I needed to be permanently erased.

A pair of bright, sweeping headlights cut through the mouth of the alleyway, making me freeze instantly against the wall.

"Check the perimeter. The bio-hazard team's log said a second cart was missing from the service bay. She didn't get far on foot in this weather," a harsh voice barked over a portable police radio.

My heart slammed against my ribs. City police scanners. That meant Victoria Sterling’s family hadn’t just hired private hitmen; they had the actual badge-holders in their pocket. If the cops caught me here, covered in industrial grime, holding a stolen corporate security drive, they wouldn't arrest me. They would write off my death as a tragic alleyway mugging gone wrong.

I turned on my heel and bolted deeper into the maze of downtown’s oldest district.

The rain didn't let up, turning the cobblestone streets into a treacherous skating rink. Every step sent a fresh wave of agony through my bruised knee, and the raw chill was already beginning to seep deep into my bones, numbing my fingers. I tried to pull my thoughts together, desperately searching for a place to hide, a phone to use, a friend to call.

Call who?

My apartment was already compromised. My coworkers at the agency were likely being interrogated or silenced as we speak. I had no family, no savings left after paying off Ethan’s medical debts from months ago—debts he probably fabricated to bleed me dry while he courted a billionaire heiress. The realization hit harder than the cold rain, a hollow, biting ache in my chest that had nothing to do with the weather.

I turned another sharp corner, ducking beneath a rusted metal awning of an abandoned storefront. My vision began to blur around the edges, dark spots dancing in the heavy mist. The exhaustion, the blood loss from my scraped knee, and the sheer terror of the past hour were catching up to me all at once.

My legs gave out.

I slid down the damp brick wall until I hit the concrete, pulling my knees up to my chest. The world spun wildly, the neon lights of the distant avenue bleeding together into long, smeary streaks of red and blue. The cold was absolute now, creeping through my veins, making my eyelids feel like lead.

As the street sounds faded into a dull, distant roar, heavy leather shoes stepped into my line of sight, stopping right in front of my boots. I tried to lift my head, but the darkness rushed in, pulling me under before I could see who was standing above me.