Ethan
She left my office without another word, and I stood at the window for a long time afterward, watching her small figure emerge onto the sidewalk fourteen floors below, watching her pause for a moment before a waiting car, watching her disappear into traffic like she hadn't just upended everything I thought I understood about the shape of my own anger.
I had expected satisfaction. I had spent weeks building toward this exact moment, positioning Meridian's shell entities with careful precision, waiting for the day Ashford Enterprises would have no choice but to come to me on its knees. I had imagined, more than once, exactly how it would feel to watch Clara walk into my office and ask for something only I could give her.
I hadn't imagined it would feel like this. Hollow, mostly. Som
