pes framing panoramic windows, and a king-sized bed draped in custom Egyptian cotton sheets that cost more than most pe

lap. The room was silent except for the faint hum of the air conditioning and the occasional distant murmur of voices from downstairs Alexander entertai

that would echo through the halls but quiet streams that traced warm paths down her cheeks. Sh

it come

ngs. With a soft click, she opened the hidden drawer at the bottom, a compartment disguised as part of the wood paneling. Inside

ner gowns in the closet or the society

he bedside lamp. Page after page of hand-sketched designs, digital renders printed on archival paper, anno

while she watched from the audience, smiling politely. These were her originals, the adaptive facade system that responded to sunlight, the vertical gardens integrated into the structure for natural cooling, the seismi

age this, he'd said over di

pted the files and submitted them anonymously to his company's secure project portal, a

in a way she hadn't seen directed at her in months. Someone sent bre

rce. Just implemented them.

it was enough to see him succeed. That supporti

e a habit. A

very ambitious bid she f

with wave-energy

t won government contracts worth b

rt-glass systems? Every elegant curve a

ions after family dinners where Sophia's presence had grated like sandpaper. H

gious architecture program in the country. Internships at legendary firms. Professors who called her a once-in

ctoria Knight's approval. Ale

eir engagement, when she tentatively mentioned continui

od. Or convinced

sacrifice. Compromise. Sh

industry, citing family priorities. Friends mourne

e created anyway. Anon

pping felt

er now as memor

coffee and determination, only to hear Ale

useless, oblivious that the empire they bo

r confidence, making her question if her talent was r

io and held it to her

claiming him a visionary. The fortune that funded this mansio

olen, not maliciously perha

never asked

ou

d in her mind

ong with the drive containing digital backups encr

leave this room, th

did, the shad

m her name. Her

he was discardin

bout to lose the archit

walked to the window, gazing out at th

as still d

, something st

so

sible wife would s

y see what Alexander Knigh