The call came like a quiet fracture in the night.
“Let’s talk. Meet us at the Zenith Apex.”
And then—silence.
Not the kind that fades easily.
Vernon stood still, as if listening past the quiet—searching for what wasn’t said. Then he moved—calm, precise. He reached for his shirt, slipping it on, fingers working the buttons with controlled ease—one by one, like sealing something within himself.
Emma’s eyes followed him.
“Where are you going?”
“Work.”
The word fell between them, simple… but distant.
And then he was gone.
She could feel the change in him—not in what he said, but in what he didn’t.
⸻
The executive suite door opened without resistance.
Inside, the atmosphere was precise. Controlled. Heavy with power that didn’t need to announce itself.
Lucien’s world.
A long tabl
