Sterl

steel that pierced the Manhattan skyline. It

Buy, purchasing a new laptop and trying

umbling apartment building. A man in a suit-one of the guards from the restaur

ss the incident," the guard h

The walls were lined with books, floor to ceiling. The view behind the mas

ind the desk. He was r

-four. Ghostwriter for low-end romance novels. Investiga

anning the page before

eglig

d looked at me. The boredom was gone fro

I said. It was a stat

a scene in my presence," he repl

eeping my voice steady. "I

e w

y. "You refused my money initially. You demanded an apology. That impl

ybe," I w

arms over his chest. "The federal government is auditing my family's legitimate busine

rds slipped out befo

d a merger I am orchestrating, I need to appear... human. I need a biography. A memoir. Something that

to lie for

ted. "You are a writer, are you not? A d

er from his desk and slid i

hitch. It was enough money to pay my rent for five years.

y. "I write fiction. I don't w

he was in front of me, blocking my path to the door.

uff yesterday, didn't

wed hard

a witness, Aria. You

nd of hair behind my ear. His fingers

n't talk to the wrong people about what you saw on my sleeve. Or walk out that door

It was a cage disgui

k eyes and saw my ref

n advance

d it was the most terrify

on