Two nights before the concert.
Kaylee stood by the floor-to-ceiling window in her room, watching lightning split the sky over Meridian. Her reflection looked unfamiliar now—steady hands, sharper eyes, a silence too calm to be peace.
A storm was coming.
And she had planned every drop.
---
Elsewhere in Wolfe Tower, Victoria cornered Clarence in his office.
She didn't knock.
“I warned you," she said. “And you didn't listen."
Clarence didn't look up. “Still shouting threats, Victoria?"
“No more threats. Just evidence." She tossed a flash drive onto his desk.
“What's this?" he asked.
“Security footage. From the island. You remember the night."
He went still.
She leaned in. “The part where you poured something into Kaylee's wine?"
His face drained.
“You were careful. But not caref
