The waiting room of the Texas Cardiology Institute was a masterclass in sterile intimidation. The walls were painted an aggressive shade of hospital white, illuminated by buzzing fluorescent lights that cast long, gray shadows across the linoleum floor.

Clara sat in a rigid plastic chair, clutchin

The fluorescent lights in Dr. Hayes’s office buzzed with a low, mechanical hum, a sound that seemed entirely too loud for the suffocating silence in the room.

I sat in the same leather chair I had occupied yesterday, but the defiance that had fueled me then was gone, replaced by a cold, leaden dre

The penthouse was pitch black, silent except for the frantic, terrifying sound of my own ragged breathing.

It was past midnight. Julian hadn't come home. He hadn't texted. He hadn't called to ask why I had shown up at the office and vanished, or why I had missed the afternoon sync. I had spent the