Chapter 3 No.3

The partition in the limousine was up. The driver was a silhouette behind smoked glass.

Alessandra sat alone in the back. The leather seats were vast, swallowing her whole. She felt like a package being delivered.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket. She pulled it out. A message from Chloe.

Enjoy my leftovers, mute. Try not to bore him to death.

Alessandra turned the phone off. She looked out the window as the city of San Francisco blurred past. The fog was rolling in, swallowing the Golden Gate Bridge. She wasn't going to a home. She was just moving from a Victorian prison to a modern one.

The car stopped in front of a black monolith of a building. The Obsidian.

The elevator ride was smooth and silent. When the doors opened directly into the penthouse, Alessandra blinked.

It was stunning. And it was freezing.

The apartment was a study in brutalism. Concrete walls, floor-to-ceiling glass, black metal fixtures. There were no photos. No rugs. No color. It looked like a museum for people who hated people.

She stepped out of the elevator. She took a step toward the massive window overlooking the bay.

Beep-beep-beep.

A red light pulsed from a panel on the wall. A synthetic voice, far more advanced than her tablet's, spoke.

"Unauthorized access. Zone restricted."

Alessandra jumped back. She clutched her coat tighter.

She moved toward the kitchen.

"Unauthorized access."

She moved toward the hallway.

"Unauthorized access."

She retreated to the grey sofa in the center of the living room. It was the only place the house didn't yell at her. She sat there as the sun went down, and the apartment plunged into darkness. She didn't know how to turn on the lights.

Hours later, the front door lock clicked.

Florian walked in. He looked exhausted. His tie was undone, hanging loose around his neck. He smelled of whiskey and ozone.

He stopped when he saw the dark lump on his sofa. He frowned, reaching for a wall panel.

"Lights. Fifty percent."

The room bathed in a soft, warm glow.

He looked at her. "Why are you sitting in the dark?"

Alessandra stood up quickly. Her legs were stiff. She opened her mouth, but the familiar clamp was there. The silence. She pointed to the panel on the wall.

Florian stared at her. Then, a cruel smirk touched his lips.

"Oh," he said. "Right. Voice command."

He walked past her, throwing his jacket onto a chair. "The whole house is integrated. Lights, temperature, locks, kitchen appliances. All voice-activated. And it's keyed to my biometric voiceprint only. So don't bother trying that little robot of yours."

He loosened his cuffs. He didn't look at her, but she could feel his satisfaction.

"There are no servants here," he said, pouring himself a glass of water from a tap that responded to his command. "I value my privacy. If you're hungry, figure it out. If you try to leave, the security system will flag you as an intruder and break your legs."

Alessandra felt a flash of heat in her chest. Anger. Pure, white-hot anger.

She grabbed a notepad from the coffee table. She scribbled furiously.

I need a room.

She shoved the paper at his chest.

Florian glanced at it. He didn't take it. He just gestured vaguely down a hallway.

"Second door on the left. Don't come out."

He turned his back on her and took a drink.

Alessandra marched down the hall. She found the door. She opened it.

It was a guest room. It had a bed frame.

But there was no mattress. No sheets. No pillows. Just wooden slats and concrete floor.

She stood in the doorway, staring at the empty frame. She heard Florian's footsteps retreating to the master suite on the other side of the apartment.

She walked in and closed the door. She curled up on the hard wooden slats, pulling her coat over her head.