"Keep your three billion credits," Laura said, turning her back on him and walking slowly toward the glowing glass doors of the grand ballroom. She paused right at the threshold, looking back over her shoulder at the stunned, pale tycoon standing alone in the cold atmospheric wind. Laura smiled coldly, rejecting the bribe and declaring that Gerald’s shadow was worth more than Vane’s entire fortune.
The thick glass doors glided shut behind her, muting the biting wind of the sky-terrace and immersing her once more in the warm, ambient murmur of the Solstice Banquet. Her heart beat with a steady, fierce rhythm as she walked across the polished quartz floor toward the private interior lounge where Gerald waited.
Gerald stood by a tall marble column, holding a crystal glass of untouched miner
