The rain had begun sometime after midnight, soft at first, then steady — a rhythmic tap against the massive glass windows of the penthouse. Malia sat curled on the edge of the couch, one of Kieth’s sweaters wrapped around her shoulders, the quiet hum of the storm doing little to calm the chaos inside her.
The city glittered far below, but all she could think about was the weight of the silence. Kieth had left earlier for an emergency meeting, his last words still echoing in her mind: “Don’t leave this floor. Don’t open the door for anyone.”
He hadn’t said please. He never did.
The clock ticked past one a.m. when her phone — the backup one Andrew had given her months ago, hidden deep in her luggage — began to vibrate.
Her blood turned to ice.
It wasn’t supposed to work anymore. She’d s
