nor

t different this morning, it had sharpened i

t had arrived via courier at precisely seven in the morning. The paper was heavy, em

the edge of the wood to hide it from myself. I had spent the last three years building a reputation as an independent architectural restorer, taking on

eeks away from comp

y didn't hire independent restorers. They bought entire firms, restructured multi-million-dollar urban districts, and crushed smaller co

ke the

Ms.

n. The Owens Conglomerate requires your undivided expertise for a confiden

on your initial consultation, with a full project contract to foll

erstand the necessity

y thousand pounds. Ju

my studio for the next five years, to finally stop waking up at three in the morning with a cold

omach twist into

a lawyer. I didn't ask questions. I changed into my sharpest

er opened the door in silence, offering only a brief, formal nod. As we glided through the bustling streets toward t

ng shadow of tinted glass and reinforced metal. It

as ushered past lines of suit-clad executives directly to a private elevator. The key inserted i

of the city vanished entirely, swallo

," a voice

vy suit, stepped out from behind a massive walnut desk

nding a hand. Her grip was

th modern art that looked more like financial investments than expressions of soul. "The project is unique. It requires a rare combinatio

came before," I replied, my voice steady despite the flutter in m

t the end of the hallway. She turned to me, her e

ing of this very structure. The original 19th-century foundation upon which the glass to

airman?"

, but rumors had circulated recently about a shift in power,

ith his successor. He expects absolute perfection, Ms. Wayne. If you accept this retainer, your life

isingly close to pity. "If you turn back now, we will compensate you for your time today

came without a devastating catch. But then I remembered the eviction notice sitting on my kit

I said, locking

d the doors open, and steppe

dows and lit only by floor-to-ceiling win

nd of the room. Behind it stood a high-ba

," a voice command

ity that sent a sudden, electric shiver straight down my spine. The heavy

hly. The leather creaked as the

froze to the floor, and the sketchpad in

ti-billion-dollar Owens Conglomerate, the man who held

as Ar

a single word, leaving behind only a broken promise, a vacant apartment,

asping his long fingers together. A faint, cold smile touched the co

his voice cutting through the silence like a blad