choing in the cavernous, empty office. It didn' t shatter. It just lay there

leather shoe, sending it skittering across the polis

were crying over? T

city. Three days. In three days, her company, 'Nexus,' would officially cease to exist. He had

g. Her body ached with a fatigue that went deeper than muscle, settling into her bones. This wa

ered, her voice raw. "We won

d. "Innovation? You call that lit

. He grabbed her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze. His eyes, the

nking me. I' m the one who keeps your mother' s experimental treatments fu

ather, Dr. Miller, a brilliant inventor, framed for corporate espionage. Her mother, wasting away, kept alive

few feet away, a perfectly manicured hand on her hip, a smug smile playing on her lips. She was the reason for thi

Don' t be so dramatic, Ava. It was just a startup. They fail all the time. Now Victor can

from Celeste' s triumphant face to Victor' s cold one. He didn' t defend her. He didn' t

contracts and smeared articles that sabotaged every professional attempt she made. The escape attempts, each one ending in recapture and a new, more inventive form of punishment. She remem

step ahead, his network of influence a suffocating web. Now, looking at the dead award on the floor, she f

er feet with a rough tug on her a

second, a flicker of something unreadable crossed his face as he noticed the dark c

My dreams were destroyed. I had to build this empire from their ashes, in a world of shadows and spies t

ll clamped on her arm. "Get up. We' re leav

had been her only sanctuary, her only piece of herself, she didn' t resist. The physical pain in her arm was nothing co

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