TMENT BU

d her with a soft finality

, too beautiful. She stood in the entryway, holding her worn du

Floor-to-ceiling windows framed the skyline like a painting. The air smelled of lavender an

'd stepped into so

und was her

a tentative step forward, then another, like the grou

fully stocked shelves. Yogurt. Cheese. Bottled water.

the corners

d the company car alone, not when the glass doors of H&K's towering headquarters swallowed her up. She

otel than home, surrounded by cold beau

idn't

e, stood a little taller,

MORNI

hone buzzed sharpl

OOR 32. REPORT AT 7:30

ame. Just cold, cl

screen, then glance

ang into

They were plain but neat. She tied her hair back into a low ponytail, slipp

another world. When the doors opened, the change in a

glass door, but they didn't question

to her during orientation. Her sharp navy pantsuit looked crisp eno

he said, checking

ure if she was a

ceiling glass offices and brushed steel handles. T

lia said smoothly. "He doesn't meet new

allowed

s directly summoned. You will not speak unless addressed. You will handle emails

ust beside a grander one, marked simp

n a code and o

s your

stepp

locked cabinet. A high-end coffee machine sat in the corner beside a digital task pa

sks are preloaded. Stick to the

that meant, Amelia left and

was used to. This was a different kind of silence.

~~

oved like q

schedules to cross-reference and optimize. One email simply read,

n downstairs, asked questions, found the exact model, and

d her. No one

e felt

NFIDENTIAL" and spent five full seconds on the floor, heart i

no one se

~~

oor to Killian Hay

a f

oulders and an unreadable expression carved in steel. He didn't spare her a

was

ian

bo

e couldn't have been more than thirty-five. His posture was perfect

was go

ut. The hal

ath she hadn't real

~~

ur of headlights and honking, people bustling past in designer

d off her shoes and curled up on

hone

ng as her mother's tired bu

r mother asked.

admitted. "But no one yelled.

mother said warmly. "You're t

osed he

hat she still didn't know why they hired her with no experience. S

, "I'm gonna make this

hed softly. "Yo

oment, that

contin