Ava didn’t go back to her office. She couldn’t.

Her legs carried her to the rooftop terrace, the only place in the building where she could breathe. The city stretched before her—skyscrapers, endless traffic, the hum of life beyond Ethan Wolfe’s grip. For a moment, she let herself imagine freedom. A job in another firm. A small apartment without his shadow in every corner. A life that was hers alone.

Then the glass door opened behind her.

“I wondered where you’d run,” Ethan’s ...