جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 5

Noah's POVThe breath tearing from my lungs felt like shards of glass scraping their way down my throat. I curled tighter against the frozen brick wall of the community shelter, shivering so violently that my teeth threatened to crack against one another.Around me stretched a white wasteland of ice and snow. The world had been dying for two years, and the weather apocalypse showed no signs of mercy.My mother had thrown me out of the house an hour ago, slamming the door with an expression of disgust. But it was my father's parting words that hurt more than the cold."Take that, you ungrateful leech," he sneered, tossing my last can of expired beans into the snow at my feet. "We only adopted you because your mother couldn't have children. We kept you around because we needed someone to help with the bills. Now that we have our own son, we don't need you anymore. Go freeze somewhere else."Adopted. Squeezed out of every value. Then discarded.For years, I had worked myself sick trying

Noah's POVStepping out of the elevator onto the executive floor, I walked across plush carpeting that swallowed the sound of my footsteps. The receptionist looked up from her desk. Her eyes widened when she recognized me. "Noah?"I offered her a polite smile."What are you doing here?" she asked, glancing at the laptop on her desk. "Today is Friday! It's your official day off.""I need to see Mr. Sinclair. It's urgent."Her expression immediately turned uncertain. "Oh, but he's preparing for a private meeting, and I really should inform him before...""I understand, but this can't wait until Monday."Before she could finish, I headed toward the frosted glass doors leading to the executive offices."Mr. Harper, wait!" I heard her chair scrape against the floor, but I didn't stop. I had ninety days to prepare for an apocalypse. I couldn't afford to waste precious time waiting for an appointment.The corridor leading to Josh Sinclair's private office was deserted. I walked straight to

Noah's POVHis eyes swept across the room before finally settling on me. He stepped forward, seemingly unfazed by the tension in the air."I forgot to confirm the time for tomorrow's inspection. And I don't have your number."My adoptive father hurried towards him, eagerly extending a hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Sinclair."Josh Sinclair's reputation was formidable enough that even people who had never met him knew better than to provoke him casually.My family might have considered me their personal source of income, but they weren't stupid enough to assume they could challenge a man like Josh without consequences.Josh stared at him blankly, his hands remaining tucked into his pockets.My father's extended hand hung awkwardly between them. His welcoming smile faltered when Josh made no effort to acknowledge it."Is there a problem here?" Josh asked.His voice was calm, but there was something about his expression that made it difficult to mistake the question for casual c