Chapter 21 A Deal With The Past

• Vanessa stood at the edge of the terrace, her fingers wrapped tightly around the railing as if it were the only thing keeping her from falling into the abyss below. The evening breeze swept her dark hair across her face, but she didn’t flinch. Below her, the city stretched wide, bathed in the golden hue of the setting sun, its skyscrapers shimmering like gilded sentinels. The world looked peaceful—deceptively so—but inside her chest, her heart thudded like war drums, each beat a reminder of the phone call that had shattered her fragile equilibrium.
• It had been her father’s voice that she hadn’t heard in five years.
• “Come alone. No questions.”