The man beneath the steel
Adrian Cross sat alone in his office, the silence so complete it rang in his ears. Beyond the glass walls, the city stretched endlessly beneath him—cold, distant, and glittering, like a constellation he had long ago memorized but never touched. Skyscrapers pierced the dark sky, their windows glowing faintly, each one a reminder of deals closed, leverage gained, lives influenced from a distance. The view was supposed to reassure him. It always had.
Tonight, it didn’t.
The glass reflected his image back at him: sharp suit, immaculate posture, a face the world recognized as untouchable. Adrian Cross—the billionaire, the strategist, the man whispered about in boardrooms and feared in negotiations. The one who never hesitated, never lost, never allowed emotion to c
