verted construction trailer, parked on the edge of a muddy, dormant building site. It was small and stark, but it

ot a plea, but a command. An address fo

closed the laptop, her expression unreadab

idn't waste time with greetings. He slid a folded document across the t

w and tight. "Take it, and then disappear from my life." His plan was

er. "I'm going to VIT," she repeat

that it made people at the nearby tables turn and stare. "Who do you think you are?

was a line crossed. The

every major university in Veridian. He claimed the Sinclair family had

smug, triumphant look. "You have no

ery small castle. In her mind, the entire Sinclair network was just a few lines of code th

tly. Her lack of reaction unnerved

his final card. He pulled a certified check from his briefc

e statement of her worth. It was the price of a life, of a moth

ed, picking

drew's lips. He thought he'd won. He thoug

ssibly fast, a whip-crack of motion that defied belief. The

ac

tered. He cried out, clutching his cheek where a sharp red line was already rising. He stared at her, his expression a mixture of shock, pa

er that cut through the café's low hum. "Consider

normal. It wasn't the act of a d

e. "Your world, your rules," she said, her voice filled with a co

is prejudices, were shatte

what you've provo

the floor next to the broken lens.

e. His control, his power, had evaporated. He had und

th a cold, final disgust.

him in the ruins of his authority. The fragile illusion of their fa