~ Lucien ~
The city lights outside my office window were a chaotic blur of gold and white, but inside, the atmosphere was clinical. I stood before the wall of monitors in my private study, my hands clasped behind my back. On the center screen, Adrian Vale’s face stared back at me from a recent press release—his "golden boy" smile perfectly practiced, his posture exuding an arrogance that only comes from inherited wealth and a lack of consequence.
He had spent the last forty-eight hours poisoning the well. The whisper campaign against Seraphina was masterfully executed. Subtle leaks to the social columns, concerned inquiries from board members, the slow, agonizing isolation of a woman who had done nothing but play the role he had written for her.
"He thinks he’s winning," Marcus said fro
