. She sat on the edge of her twin mattress, staring at the chipped wall of her one-bedroom flat. The soft hum of

e suit she'd borrowed from her cousin-a navy blue blazer that did

in the cracked bathroom mirr

she whispered. "Even

een strangers with headphones and tired eyes. None o

that crowded train rather tha

ike a threat by the time she

er, and secrets. She paused at the e

e her a blank stare bef

t the weight of her name. As she rode the elevator alon

to keep them from trembling.

er's school fees, and the family home they we

e, revealing a corridor so pr

his office door like a dark monument to everything

ers, unreadable

el. "Mr. Carrington," she returned, keeping her chi

ome in. Let's discus

aid it made h

e it wasn't. He wasn't trying to flirt or in

ngton owned

about to p

that this pawn had no intention of