Pache

e guest bedroom, my muscles sore fr

neat, handwritten note sat on the coffee table beside a spare ke

harp and commanding,

l to Unit 401 to retrieve my passport and birth certificate-Finley had spitefully swiped

ed his birthday as the backup keypad code for every property he owned. The lock clicked sof

rd the home office t

room, that familiar, disgusting stench of wild

s soft giggles and Finley

ey muttered, his voice thick with the heavy painkillers he must have ta

urning wave of disgu

between the Egyptian cotton sheets I had pic

ails bit into my palms, forcing

hing crystal clear. I wasn't going t

switched it to silent mode, and turne

me and angled the lens t

antly, the microphone picked up Finley's boastful voice as he used his uninjured

a out of the building personally," Finley sneered, his voice slightly slurred from pa

d the crystal-clear video file stra

grabbed my passport and certificate

on crystal wolf trophy he had bought for himself to celebrate h

raised it above my head, and hurled

AS

tered into a doz

of the apartment, slamming the fr

m inside the bedroom, Finley let out

evator, hit the lobby button, and wa

h of wild roses from my lungs. I hailed a yellow cab and

the video file on my phone and set the

is corporate ascension. Today, I was going to drag hi

nd-steel skyscraper. I paid the fare, straightened my blazer,

ed suits. As I walked past the reception desk, several low-tie

Finley dumped I

one cheating with s

them without giving

ssed the button for the 15th f

ery floor, my heart beat faster-not from f

i

lked into the open-plan office, sat down

twork accessible to every single employee across all depar

hots into the attachment box, typed out a bold, unmissable