Chapter 6 - THE GHOST IN THE PENTHOUSEThe penthouse occupied the top three floors of the Vance Tower, a monolith of black glass and steel piercing the clouds above the financial district.
When we walked through the double doors, the automated smart-system hummed to life, bathing the sprawling minimalist living room in a warm, amber glow. Floor-to-ceiling windows offered a panoramic view of the city skyline, dotted with the pulsing red lights of distant aircraft.
I dropped my scuffed jacket onto a custom-built walnut bench and kicked off my boots.
"Drink?" Julian asked, heading toward the private bar built into the mahogany wall.
"Scotch. Neat," I replied, sinking into the deep white velvet sofa. My body was finally starting to process the adrenaline crash from the bar. The encounter with Colin felt like a lifetime ago, a distant fever dream from a girl I used to be.
Julian handed me a heavy crystal tumbler, the amber liquid swirling with ice. He sat beside me, his long legs stretched out, his eyes fixed on the city lights below.
"The board meeting is tomorrow morning," Julian said quietly, swirling his own drink. "Sterling Logistics is going to try to distance themselves from Colin’s embezzlement. They’ll claim he acted alone."
"Let them," I said, taking a slow sip. The burn of the scotch felt good against my throat. "It won't save them. Colin was sloppy. He left a paper trail a mile wide because he thought his boss was protecting him."
"His boss was protecting him," Julian replied, a slow, dangerous smile touching his lips. "Until I bought out his boss's primary creditors this afternoon. By noon tomorrow, Sterling Logistics will be a wholly owned subsidiary of Vance Holdings."
I turned my head to look at him. The amber glow of the penthouse caught the sharp angles of his jaw, the silver viper clip glittering like a live wire.
"You planned this before we even went to the bar, didn't you?"
Julian turned his head, his golden eyes meeting mine with absolute candor. "I’ve been buying shares in Sterling Logistics for six months, Nora. Colin was just... an unexpected bonus. I didn't plan for him to touch you. If I had, the locks at The Rusted Crown would have closed ten minutes earlier."
A shiver ran down my spine—not from fear, but from the terrifying, intoxicating realization of how completely this man owned the world around us.
Just then, the penthouse security console on the wall beeped.
Bip. Bip. Bip.
It wasn't a standard visitor alert. It was the low-priority ping of the private elevator system.
Julian’s eyes narrowed slightly. He didn't move, but the relaxed posture vanished instantly, replaced by the coiled readiness of a panther.
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"Who has the master key to the private lift?" I asked, setting my glass down on the marble coffee table.
"Only three people," Julian said softly. "Me. My head of security... and my brother."
