ound that filled the late-night silence. Outside the floor-to-ceilin

s the only one left

was my baby, a career-defining skyscraper that demanded my every waking hour. I was tired, my bones ached from sittin

er my head and letting out a long sigh. My eyes

when I

ng in the air just beyond the glass, faint bu

rchitect. She' s workin

efinitely too tired. I must be seeing th

ll there. And mo

cused. She has no i

llenge? C' mon Mark, s

. Let' s see you work

This wasn't real. It couldn't be. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath,

A new line of text materialized, this time right next to

he target for Mark Johnson' s 'Chivalry Challeng

Joh

re he'd find women walking alone at night and insist on escorting them home, framing it as a modern-day act of chivalry. S

was his

the air conditioning. This wasn't a hallucination.

d. A little fear makes

Sarah. Just be a goo

ld they see me? How were they doing this? My privacy, my safety, my very reality f

as surprisingly clear. I wasn' t goi

acts, my thumb hovering over the name "Michael." My middle brother. The impulsive one, the o

d the ca

ring. "Sarah? What's up?

ying to keep the tremor out of it. "I need yo

g okay?" The concern in

the empty office, feeling a thousand unseen eyes on me.

for backup. The lit

More challenge, more money. Let

ated mockingly

from concerned to serious. "Lock your door. Don't le

hispered, a

and walked to the main office door, my heels clicking loudly in the silence.