The transition from a girl who was drowning to a woman who was building a fortress required more than just a new deed and a deleted browser history. It required a complete restructuring of her physical presence. In the world of economics, Elena knew that land was the only thing they weren’t making any more of. By owning the square footage beneath her feet, she had removed the most volatile variable from her life: the whim of a landlord.
Elena stood in the center of her new living room, the "Build-Your-Own" skyscraper Lily had completed sitting on the windowsill like a lighthouse. The apartment was quiet—the kind of silence that cost forty-two thousand dollars. It was thick, insulating, and entirely hers. This was the perimeter. Outside these walls, she was a ghost. Inside, she was the sol
