Beneath the Caviar Sky

ot supposed to be

V screen that kept replaying the same grainy footage-his father, silver-

of the screen flickered l

EO INDICTED ON MULTIPLE CO

the anchors dissecting his life, but because the

th

team gave up. The elevators hadn't chimed. His doorman-Frank, who always slippe

him like a receding tide, and

oked

nal for a magazine spread. The wall-sized wine fridge for brand synergy. The Ja

and now even the st

hat would've mad

e window that overlooked the city. Even at this hour, Manhattan glowed like it didn't know

e counter. One last me

hink y

Just six words that burned through every layer of cura

hink y

't. Not

dn't aske

ting room that Vogue called "a cathedral of opulence." All while Thomas Vale had siphoned mone

ted to know, either. And that, in the c

ade a d

nfare. Not

dfather's old pickup truck-somehow still parked in t

er phone. No coordinates

dro

ions later, he found himself in

. The sky got bigger. The no

own too small to market, with a single blinking light a

e truck. No one bothered him. Not even the local cop, w

g, he woke to t

st dir

hinted at growth, at fruit, at someth

's when

r what was l

ked like they hadn't seen maintenance in months.

a faded wooden gate. There was a sign, ba

END VI

Wanted. Seaso

t lifted anything heavier tha

ng pulled h

e was elbow-deep in crates of late harvest Muscat grapes

aid. Male. Poli

. And what she saw d

er, city shoes. But his eyes... his eyes were quiet. The

id. "Saw the sign. I'

aised an

r pruned

N

fted a l

N

a break, through bugs and heat a

nt smile. "No

ting, grapes moldering on the vine, her son's school thr

about him ma

look of a runaway.

ot to, had always had a soft spot

e said. "Break your back, break

nod

property. "Start there. Watch your footing. The sn

ked. "S

r. Just smirked

d nearly sliced open his thumb. By five, he was

Didn't complain. Did

e didn't

fin Vale had

? Chris w

long, long time, that felt