Chapter 6 The Gilded Trap

• Rain pounded the city outside, drumming against tired windowpanes. Isolde sat at her small kitchen table, eyes fixed on the early coffee that had gone cold. Dawn fingers slipped across the city skyline through thin curtains. Vivienne slept curled on the sofa, safe but strained.
• Across from her sat Dorian and Penelope. The dossier lay open torn-out pages, blurred surveillance footage, VIP lists.
• Isolde whispered, “Dominic Wade… Client Six‑Two. He paid for the show.”