The penthouse was too quiet after she tried to leave.
Nora had gone to her room. Door closed, but not locked. She never locked doors in the Sufu house — if you locked it, they would bang louder. So she left it cracked. A habit.
Adrian had put her boxes back in the closet. Hanger by hanger. The snowball coat back where it belonged. He didn't say anything else about her trying to leave. He just ordered food — toast, eggs no pepper, coffee black no sugar, the way she made for him — and put it outside her door like an offering.
"Eat when you want," he said through the crack. "No rush."
Inside, Nora sat on the floor with her backpack, hands in her lap, staring at them. Cold hands. Always cold.
Downstairs in the lobby, Marcus burst out of his cab. He didn't have the tooth anymore — he'd han
