The city was cloaked in darkness, pierced only by the distant glow of neon lights and the occasional flash of lightning. Smoke still lingered from minor fires that had erupted in pockets of the city during the chaos, a grim reminder of how fragile control had been.

Inside the penthouse, Justina stood at the floor-to-ceiling windows, arms crossed, her reflection staring back at her. She looked stronger, harder, forged by every betrayal, every secret, and every fire that had threatened to consume ...