Chapter 9

The morning sun filtered through the sheer curtains of the master bedroom, casting long, peaceful shadows across the hardwood floor.

Clara stood at the foot of the massive king-sized bed, methodically folding a stack of Julian’s expensive cashmere sweaters. An open, leather weekender ba

Chapter 10

The digital waveform on Clara Vance’s monitor spiked and dipped in a steady, hypnotic rhythm. Outside her darkened home office, the California night was perfectly still, but in her headphones, the howling winds of the Colorado Rockies roared through the encrypted audio feed.

Clara took

Chapter 11

The VIP dressing room beneath the Moscone Center smelled of expensive hairspray, catered espresso, and Julian’s nervous sweat.

"Did the dev team patch that latency issue in the backend?" Julian snapped, pacing back and forth across the plush carpet. He tugged violently at the cuffs of