call hadn't come. Finally, she asked Mrs. Peterson to let her leave early. The driver had been summoned well before the usual time, and now, in the bac

line, Cali was already wide awake, her internal clock still adjusting. She sat at her la

meaningless position, a title Halsey had given her so she would have something to

ulian Hayes, Halsey's execut

an Group tower, Julian's inbox pinged. The subject line

commodating Mrs. Donovan he was used to. He remembered her file. An astonishing academic record at MIT, a care

felt significant. A wife resigning from a

he button for Halsey's di

charity project Cali was overseeing. When Julian had brought it to Hals

g related to her. Anything. Unless it involves a criminal charge o

y. The entire executive floor knew how lit

scandal. It was just a piece of pap

m the phone. He was a good a

with a simple, two-word directive: Process accordingly. H

came back from HR. Th

was not his place to interfere. He turned his attention back to the administrative mountain of paperwork for the multi-billion-

team. His phone lay face down on the polished table, silent. He had no idea that his wife

pinged. It was an automated email f

onfirm that your resignation has been rec

h she didn't realize she'd been holding. Another

e tech summit was in thre

cal journals, diving back into the world of algorithms and code that

r a weapon that could hurt her. It