The executive offices of Artemis Tower sat nearly empty beneath the glow of evening lights. Most departments had already gone home, leaving behind darkened workstations, silent conference rooms, and long stretches of glass walls overlooking the recovering city. Far below, traffic flowed steadily through illuminated streets while construction crews packed away equipment from another day of rebuilding.
Inside the CEO office, Cael Alexander stood beside the windows with both hands in his pockets.
The folder Seraphina had given him rested on his desk.
Closed.
Not because he had ignored it.
Because he had already read every page.
The city reflected faintly across the glass in front of him. Hundreds of lives continued moving below without realizing that a single conversation in a secluded café had shifted something fundamental inside Artemis.
Cassian.
Galathea.
The investigation.
The spine.
The obsession.
The guilt.
Most people would have focused on the first four.
