The Croft-Sterling building was a ghost town at three in the morning. The executive floors were dark, the expansive glass windows reflecting the glittering skyline of a city that never fully slept.

But Vivienne wasn't on the executive floors.

She stood in the elevator as it plummeted to the sub-

The elevator doors chimed, sliding open to reveal the top floor of Croft-Sterling Enterprises. For the last three years, this floor had been Vivienne Croft’s sanctuary, her war room, and her undisputed domain. Today, it felt like occupied territory.

Before she even rounded the corner to the execut

The descent to the ground floor felt agonizingly slow. Inside the glass-walled elevator, Vivienne stood rigid, her mind racing through a hundred different calculations. Julian stood beside her, his presence a steady, impenetrable wall of calm.

"He triggered it," Vivienne repeated, keeping her voic