Val’s P.O.V

The phone felt like a lead weight in my hand, still warm from the intensity of the call. Mom’s words echoed in the newly silent room, a stark, sobering counterpoint to the sensual haze I’d woken up in. Contract. Lawyer. Five p.m. Your future. The digital clock on my nightstand now seemed less a marker of a lazy morning and more a ticking timer counting down to a moment that could define everything.

My gaze fell to the text message notification glowing on the screen. The ...