Boulevard and the hush that settled over the hills after midnight, like a sheet pulled over a restless body. Tonight

wasn't possession either. It was urgency turned physical. The overnight concierge, paid for silence, watched them pass without acknowle

nto a silver‑streaked bun-stepped out. Lena recognized her voice from Callum's earlier call: the British fixer,

ed, accent clipped, eyes sweep

el in his free hand. "

guns?" Ele

," he

. She hadn't k

nce, unimpressed

d to murky silhouettes. Eleanor drove without headlights for half a block before merging onto an a

downtown's spires rec

in forty minutes. Make calls if you need to, b

of any line-only contracts, agencies, and hollow friendships curated for red carpe

studied Callum's profile: the tightness along his jaw, the shallow cut on his knuckles from punching a wall e

e safehouse

ordinator I worked with-he died on set,

ouse," she

Wi‑Fi, no cameras-except ours. Perimeter's thermal‑wired, satellite upli

," Lena w

rk shoulders of the Santa Monica Mountains. Cell service blin

, the glass cooler than her skin. For years she had cultivated detachment-an armor stitched from runways and retouched magazine spreads. But Owen

tomorrow's hook. Someone spotted a figure on your penthouse balcony snapping photos w

Callum muttered. "W

. two... one." She tapped the dashboard screen and Lena's Instagram feed opened: a photo from six months earlier-Lena in a Paris café,

. She shut her eyes. "

her hand. "Not if w

"Control requires cred

scrub. A wrought‑iron gate opened via remote, revealing a low, modern house half

ty," she said. "Let

r: drones, portable jammers, EMP grenades packaged like lunchboxes. Lena'

ass framed a view of absolute darkness. She tossed Callum a tablet. "

en since Lisbon

er drops, burner SIMs, physical tails.

rubbing her temples. "He wants us to react.

." She turned to Callum. "I'll need the original contracts-proof

tightened. "They're

dictate narrative. Full confession, full atonem

want him to confe

es-unedited. Frame it as survival, not scandal. Then we file a restraining order and re

. "You're talking about

countered. "Exposure is inevitable.

and through his hai

, retreating t

ut a breath she didn't realize s

her, exhaus

walked to the panoramic glass, staring into the void beyond. Her ref

m about this,"

ut w

raced a fingertip down the cool pane. "But hidin

just short of her reflecti

ears unshed.

e." He touched her cheek. "I s

uying his sile

s cowa

as just another scandal." She leaned her forehead

n they parted, the tension in her chest loosened, but the f

us. Storms were rare in June, but

re two compact pistols, an SLR camera body modified with infrar

Memorize the numb

ere, will you really use those?

"But hope hasn't been a

an envelope. "This arrived at the front gate t

wax seal broken in transit.

a single

in crawl before

ctive captured minutes ago. In the foreground, a silhouette held a

the Polaroid, scr

ce of gla

still

y silent. Even the s

dheld device. "Recent chemical processing. Fifty‑f

id he find us?"

aid. "Or he's planted physi

room doorway-barely a graze. Had he slipped something into her jacket?

sts gently. "We'll sw

e minutes on the operatives. Noti

her fear back at her, multiplied. Glass walls indeed. Sh

public doesn't stop him? What if he wan

er than night rain. "The

e of a man on the ridge-camera raised, lens winking like a predatory eye. Wh

t felt closer

around Lena's shoulder

ry tales; they were scars and sleepless nights, bargaining with nig

ce tightening. "Operatives spotted motion sensor

checked the chamber. "Time

r was immediat

ing fear with stark clarity. She

furious drops. The safehouse lights flickered. Somew

rstood the reality of glass houses:

who'd spent years watching, waiting, beli