Chapter 1 1

The phone vibrated against the cheap laminate of the table.

Anna Roth stared at the screen. The name flashing on the display was not a name at all. It was a location.

The Office.

That was Grayson Warren's way of dehumanizing her even before she picked up. She wasn't a girlfriend. She wasn't a partner. She was an asset to be managed, a liability to be contained, and right now, she was being summoned.

She didn't answer. She didn't need to. The vibration was the command.

Anna inhaled, the air in her small safe-house apartment in Queens smelling of stale coffee and the lemon pledge she used to scrub the floors herself. This was her sanctuary, the one place his cameras and trackers couldn't reach. Her real life-the gilded cage of his penthouse-was a forty-minute train ride away. She stood up, her movements mechanical. She walked to the mirror by the door.

The woman staring back had hollow cheeks and eyes that had learned to go flat on command. She smoothed her hair. She adjusted the collar of her blouse. She practiced the expression she needed to wear.

Submission. Fatigue. A little bit of fear.

It was a mask she had perfected over three years. It was the only armor she had left.

The ride to The Vault was quiet. The Uber driver didn't speak, and Anna watched the city blur past the window. Manhattan was a grid of lights and noise, a cage made of steel and ambition. She used to own this city. Now, she was just a ghost haunting its perimeter.

The Vault was one of those private clubs that prided itself on exclusion. The heavy wooden doors were guarded by men in suits who looked like they wrestled bears for fun.

Anna stepped out of the car. The humidity of the New York summer clung to her skin. She walked up the steps, her heels clicking on the stone.

The head of security, a man named Marcus who had known her father for twenty years, stepped in front of her.

"ID," he said.

He didn't look her in the eye. He looked at a spot somewhere above her left ear.

"Marcus," she said softly. "It's me."

"ID, Ma'am," he repeated. His voice was flat.

Anna felt the heat rise in her neck. It wasn't shame. It was anger, hot and sharp, but she swallowed it down. She opened her purse, her fingers trembling slightly as she fished out her driver's license.

She handed it to him. He pretended to inspect it, taking his time, letting her stand there while a group of men in bespoke suits walked past her without a second glance.

"You're clear," Marcus said, handing it back.

The door opened.

Grayson's assistant, a woman named Chloe who wore stilettos that cost more than Anna's monthly rent, was waiting in the lobby. Chloe didn't say hello. She just turned on her heel and started walking.

Anna followed.

They moved through the corridor, the air growing cooler, the scent of expensive cigars and aged whiskey growing stronger. Chloe stopped at a heavy oak door at the end of the hall. She opened it and stepped aside.

Anna walked in.

The VIP room was dimly lit. Leather sofas lined the walls, and a low glass table was cluttered with crystal tumblers and bottles of liquor that cost thousands of dollars.

Grayson Warren sat in the center of the main sofa.

He was wearing a charcoal suit, the jacket discarded, his white shirt unbuttoned at the collar. He looked effortless. He looked like a king holding court.

He didn't look up when she entered. He was laughing at something the man next to him said. The man was fat, balding, and wearing a watch that was too big for his wrist.

Anna stood by the door. She folded her hands in front of her. She waited.

She was a piece of furniture. She was a lamp. She was a rug.

Minutes ticked by. The laughter died down. The clinking of ice against glass filled the silence.

Finally, Grayson turned his head. His eyes, the color of cold slate, landed on her. There was no warmth in them. There was only assessment.

He lifted a hand and curled his fingers. Come here.

It was the gesture one used for a dog.

Anna walked forward. Her legs felt heavy. She stopped in front of the table, the leather of the sofa brushing against her knees.

Grayson didn't tell her to sit. He held out his empty glass.

Anna took it. Her fingers brushed against his. His skin was cold from the ice. A jolt of revulsion went through her, starting in her stomach and traveling up her spine. She forced her face to remain blank.

"Well, look what the cat dragged in," the balding man said, his eyes raking over her. He knew exactly who she was. "Grayson, you still haven't managed to get rid of the Briggs family ghost? She looks more like a cheap waitress every time I see her."

Grayson smiled. It was a sharp, cruel thing.

"This is Anna," Grayson said. "The Briggs family legacy. Or should I say, their liability."

Laughter erupted around the room. It was loud and wet and ugly.

Anna felt the blood drain from her face. She turned away, moving to the bar cart in the corner. She needed to breathe. She needed to not scream.

She picked up the bottle of scotch. Her hands were shaking. She gripped the neck of the bottle tighter to steady them.

In the mirror behind the bar, she could see the reflection of the room. She could see Grayson.

He had placed his phone on the table. He was scrolling, his thumb flicking carelessly.

This was her chance. Anna poured the drink slowly. As she walked back to the table, she feigned a stumble, her body lurching forward.

"Watch it!" the balding man grunted.

Her hand, holding a cocktail napkin, shot out to steady herself against the table. The napkin landed directly beside the phone. For a fraction of a second, her lipstick case, which she'd palmed from her pocket, made contact with the back of his device. A tiny, imperceptible vibration confirmed the data transfer. It was a high-risk gambit, a data skimmer designed to clone short-range wireless protocols. It captured everything-recent texts, encrypted keys, location data. It was the digital equivalent of picking his brain.

Her heart hammered against her ribs. This was it. This was the leverage.

"Anna!"

Grayson's voice cracked like a whip.

She jumped, splashing a drop of amber liquid onto the mahogany counter. She turned around, the glass in her hand.

"Bring it here," he ordered.

She walked back to the sofa. She set the glass down in front of him.

Grayson didn't pick it up. He looked at her, then at the glass, then back at her.

"Toast with us," he said.

Anna froze. "I don't drink, Grayson. You know that."

"I know you pretend not to drink," he said. He reached for the bottle on the table and poured three fingers of neat scotch into a fresh glass. He held it out to her.

"Drink," he said softly.

The room went quiet. The other men were watching now, sensing the sport.

"Grayson, please," she whispered.

His eyes hardened. The playfulness vanished.

"For Warren Capital's quarterly earnings," he said. "Drink it. Or do you not want your allowance this month?"

It wasn't a request. It was a test of obedience. He wanted to see if she would break. He wanted to remind her who held the leash.

Anna looked at the glass. The liquid looked like poison.

She reached out and took it. Her hand trembled visibly now. She didn't care. Let them see the fear. It made the deception easier.

She lifted the glass to her lips. The smell of alcohol was overpowering. She tipped her head back and swallowed.

Fire.

It burned her tongue, her throat, her esophagus. It hit her empty stomach like a fist. She coughed, a harsh, racking sound that made her eyes water.

Grayson smiled. He reached out and patted her back. His hand was heavy between her shoulder blades.

"Good girl," he murmured, leaning in close so his breath brushed her ear. "Remember, your trust fund is just a signature away from disappearing."

Anna felt bile rise in her throat. She clamped a hand over her mouth.

"Bathroom," she choked out.

Grayson waved a hand dismissively. "Five minutes. Don't make me send Chloe."

Anna turned and walked as fast as she could without running. She pushed through the heavy door, down the hall, and into the women's restroom.

She locked the stall door. Her knees gave out, and she sank to the floor.

She didn't vomit. She didn't cry.

She reached into her purse and pulled out the tube of lipstick. She twisted the base, connecting it to a small burner phone hidden in a secret compartment of her bag. The cloned data began to upload to a secure server.

A preview of the text files appeared on the tiny screen.

`offshore accounts routed through Cayman...`

`short position on Tressel confirmed...`

`RICO implications if we don't clear the ledger...`

She took a shaky breath, her voice a raspy whisper into the phone's encrypted app. "Tressel Industries. Short position. Cayman routing. RICO implications. He's moving the money tonight."

She wiped the device and shoved the lipstick back into her bag.

She stood up and walked to the sink. She turned on the cold water and splashed it on her face. She looked at herself in the mirror.

The fear was gone. The submission was gone.

Her eyes were sharp. Her jaw was set.

She dried her face with a paper towel. She took a deep breath, letting her shoulders slump, letting the life drain out of her expression again.

She unlocked the door.

It was time to go back to work.