Chapter 5

The invitation arrived on cardstock so thick it could have been used as a weapon. It was embossed with the silver Nebula Corp logo, cold and understated. Archer held it like a lottery ticket, his thumb stroking the raised lettering.

“New York,” he announced, tossing the card onto the kitchen island where I was sorting through mail I no longer cared about. “Friday. It’s the acquisition announcement. They want the ‘founding team’ present.”

He emphasized *founding team* with a look that suggested my inclusion was a charitable donation on his part. He was already mentally spending the billions, his eyes glazed with the dopamine hit of imaginary wealth.

“I’ll need you there,” he continued, turning to the refrigerator to grab a bottle of sparkling water. “Just for the optics. The board thinks a united front looks better for the stock price during the transition. Once the ink is dry, the divorce goes through, and you can disappear to… wherever it is you’re going.”

“I’ll be there,” I said, my voice flat. I didn't look up from the utility bill in my hand.

“Try to look less like a librarian,” he added, cracking the seal on the bottle. “Buy a dress. Something that says you’re not bitter about being left behind.”

I didn't tell him I had already bought the dress. It was hanging in the back of my closet, wrapped in plastic—a sheath of midnight-blue silk that fit like a second skin and cost more than the first car we bought together. It wasn't a dress for a wife. It was a dress for a widow.

***

The lobby of Moore Tech was a cavern of glass and polished terrazzo, designed to make human beings feel small. On Thursday afternoon, the air conditioning was humming, a low, artificial drone that vibrated in my teeth. I stood near the security desk, my suitcase beside me, waiting for the town car.

The elevator doors chimed, sliding open to reveal Archer and Aviana. They looked like a magazine ad for corporate infidelity. Archer was in a bespoke charcoal suit; Aviana wore a white pencil skirt and a blouse that was strategically unbuttoned just enough to suggest unprofessionalism without technically violating the dress code.

They stopped when they saw me.

“Quinn,” Aviana chirped, her hand instinctively going to Archer’s bicep. She flashed a smile that didn't reach her eyes—predatory and insecure all at once. “I didn’t know you were riding with us to the airport. I thought you might take a separate car. You know, for space.”

“The company pays for one car,” I said. The lie tasted sweet. The company was currently hemorrhaging cash, but they didn't know that yet.

I looked at them. Really looked at them. Archer, the man I had built a life with, now a stranger wearing a mask of arrogance. Aviana, the girl playing dress-up in a world she didn't understand. This was the moment. The final off-ramp before the cliff.

“Is the paperwork filed?” I asked, my gaze shifting to Aviana. “The technical disclosures for the merger?”

“Signed, sealed, delivered,” Archer answered for her, checking his watch. “Stop worrying, Quinn. Aviana handled the specs. She knows the project inside and out.”

“Does she?” I took a step closer. The air between us crackled. “Because federal securities fraud carries a mandatory minimum, Archer. If those specs are fabricated—if someone just copy-pasted nonsense into a PDF—there’s no golden parachute. There’s just a cell.”

Archer laughed. It was a sharp, barking sound. “God, you’re pathetic. Still trying to scare us? Still trying to prove you’re the smartest person in the room?”

Aviana stepped forward, emboldened by his mockery. She smoothed the front of her skirt, her chin lifting. “Don't worry, Quinn. I’ll take good care of the company you couldn't handle. Maybe we’ll even name a scholarship after you. For... effort.”

I felt a strange sensation in my chest. It wasn't anger. It was the cold, heavy click of a lock sliding into place. I had given them the rope. They had tied the noose themselves.

I slid my sunglasses onto my face, darkening the world. “I’m counting on it.”

***

The ballroom at the Pierre Hotel in Manhattan smelled of old money and fresh lilies. The lighting was dim, focused on the massive stage where the Nebula Corp logo rotated on a sixty-foot screen. The room was packed—tech journalists, venture capitalists, the sharks of Silicon Valley. The murmur of conversation was a low roar, the sound of billions of dollars moving through the air.

Archer walked in like he owned the building. He guided Aviana to the front row, reserved for VIPs. He shook hands with people who didn't know his name yet, beaming, high on the adrenaline of his impending victory. He sat down, crossing his legs, and leaned over to whisper something in Aviana’s ear that made her giggle.

I didn't follow them.

I skirted the edge of the crowd, the silk of my dress cool against my legs. I found a seat in the back, in the shadows, next to a man who sat as still as a statue.

Harold Moore didn't look at me as I sat down. His hands were folded over the head of his cane, his knuckles white. He was watching his son in the front row—a father watching a child play in traffic.

“It’s crowded,” I said softly.

“Executions usually draw a crowd,” Harold replied, his voice a gravelly whisper.

The lights dimmed. The murmur died instantly. A spotlight hit the stage, blindingly white.

Marcus Chen walked out. He didn't look like a lawyer today. He looked like an executioner in a three-piece suit. He adjusted the microphone, the feedback whining for a split second before silence reclaimed the room.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” Marcus began, his voice echoing off the vaulted ceiling. “Thank you for coming. Today, Nebula Corp is proud to announce an acquisition that will redefine the landscape of neural technology.”

In the front row, I saw Archer straighten his tie. He reached for Aviana’s hand. He was ready for his close-up.

I leaned back in my chair, my heart beating a slow, steady rhythm against my ribs. *Smile, Archer,* I thought. *It’s the last picture they’ll ever take of you as a free man.*