The next morning, Marrin woke before dawn. The air was cold and still, the city skyline barely glowing through the pale haze of early light. She stood at her apartment window, a cup of coffee in her hand, watching the streets below. For the first time in years, she felt the strange calm that only comes after a storm.
Her phone buzzed. She didn't even have to look to know who it was.
Calvin: "It's started."
A slow smile touched her lips. Derek had taken the bait faster than she'd expected.
She dressed deliberately — a sleek charcoal dress that projected quiet authority without ostentation — and pinned her hair into a loose twist. Every detail mattered now. Today was not about revenge; it was about consolidation. After the gala, rumors had already begun to ripple through the city's inves
