explanation was smooth, practiced. For a fragile moment, I let myself believe her. I wanted to believe her. The alternative w

impersonal, a reflection of the woman she had become. And there, on the corner of her desk, was a tie. It was a deep silk blue, not a color I'd

oor opened. Liam Hayes walked in, not with the stride of a boss visiting a s

lunch at-" He stopped when he saw me.

I said, the words

mperceptible movement. Her smile became tight, her posture rigid. "Et

erving intimacy-was a look she hadn't given me in years. He gave me a dismissive nod, his eyes cold and assessing, before tu

out on my forehead. The pristine lobby of the OmniCorp building seemed to mock me with its success, a success built on the back of

way she would angle her phone away from me when a text came in. All the small, red flags I had willfully ignored, all the little lies I had s

filing an injunction to halt all development and sales of 'Ae

iness problem. This was a coordinated attack, and the per