The Vance Architecture offices were a tomb of glass and steel by nine o'clock that evening. The junior drafting teams had long since packed up their tablets and gone home. The only sound was the low hum of the centralized HVAC system and the faint, rhythmic clicking of Clara’s mouse.

She sat at her

The next morning, the office was abuzz with a frantic, nervous energy. Julian had called a mandatory all-hands meeting at 9:00 AM sharp to announce the "expansion of Vance Architecture's global footprint."

Clara stood near the back of the conference room, holding a clipboard, playing her role to pe

That evening, the penthouse apartment Clara shared with Julian smelled of expensive catered food and lies.

It was their fifth wedding anniversary.

"To us, darling," Julian said, raising a crystal flute of vintage champagne. He was dressed in a velvet smoking jacket, looking every inch the devote