Adrian POV
The security report arrives before Lydia does.
It always does.
I stand behind my desk, tablet in hand, reading the transcript line by line. Time stamps. Audio summaries. Behavioral notes written in neutral language, designed to remove emotion from observation.
Meeting duration: forty-three minutes.
Emotional escalation: minimal.
Physical proximity: appropriate.
Conclusion: Subject Lydia Cole exited voluntarily.
Efficient. Clean.
Meaningless.
I read it again anyway.
Marcus apologized. Lydia remained composed. No raised voices. No physical contact. The conversation ended with Lydia.
Exactly as expected.
Exactly as planned.
And still, something sits wrong beneath my ribs.
I set the tablet down.
The penthouse is quiet, evening light stretching across glass walls in l
