It was raining the morning we finally went down there.
Nothing dramatic, just a steady, miserable drizzle washing the city out in grey. Water smeared down the floor-to-ceiling glass of the penthouse, masking the hiss of morning traffic. Normal people were out there pulling their collars up, running for the subway.
We weren't normal.
Selene had emptied the entire sub-basement. She sent the staff home and pulled the security detail. It was just the three of us standing by that private elevator—the one that wouldn't budge without my ring and a retinal scan.
She’d spent all week beefing up the lower grid. Rerouting backup generators, adding structural braces. Prepping for the unknown.
"We're set," she told me, checking her screen. "Maren’s got ears on the northern perimeter. Anca’s holdi
