The ride to Brooklyn was a brutal journey through a city suffocating under a record-breaking heatwave. Even inside the heavily armored, climate-controlled interior of the black limousine, the tension was so thick it felt like an physical weight pressing down on Elena’s chest. She had changed out of her emerald boardroom dress into a simple, cream linen blouse and dark trousers, trying desperately to shed the high-society identity that felt more like a target with every passing hour.
Ethan sat across from her, his fingers flying across the screen of his secure encrypted tablet, his voice low and curt as he issued a rapid succession of commands to his legal and security teams. He was deploying corporate lawyers like infantry units, completely rewriting the defensive perimeter around Elena’s
