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The digital deadbolt beeped, a sharp electronic chord slicing through the frozen silence of the kitchen at 6:15 AM. / Chapter 12 / 19

Chapter 12

While the gala made front-page news across the Midwest, miles away in a damp, sub-zero basement apartment on the industrial outskirts of the city, Fiona stared blankly at a small, flickering black-and-white television screen.

The local evening news broadcast featured a sweeping, glowing segment on the newly established Sloan Foundation, flashing my face across the screen in brilliant high definition, smiling beside prominent corporate leaders and politicians.

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I stepped past the door frame, my leather shoes clicking softly against the linoleum floor.

I stepped past the door frame, my leather shoes clicking softly against...

The screech of the chopper’s rotor blades vibrated directly through the freezing slate beneath my spine. The blinding white vortex of snow kicked up by the downdraft burned my eyes, but I forced my lids open, locking my gaze onto the amber visor of the rescue specialist dropping out of the sky.

The screech of the chopper’s rotor blades vibrated directly through the...

Daniel stepped toward the bed, his polished leather shoes squeaking against the pristine hospital linoleum. He reached for the tray table, his fingers brushing the edge of the papers. His voice was low, coated in a practiced, corporate calm that made my stomach churn worse than the spiked blood pressure.

Daniel stepped toward the bed, his polished leather shoes squeaking agai...

Fiona let out a choked, desperate sob, her frail hands trembling as she pulled her moth-eaten cardigan tighter around her shivering shoulders. She reached out to smash the screen, but her hand dropped weakly to her side.

There was no one left to scream at. There was no wealth left to steal. There was only the freezing dark room, and the chilling realization that her own greed and cruelty had built the very cell she would rot in for the rest of her days.

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