Night fell heavy on New Echelon. The storm that had battered the city all day left the streets slick, every light doubled in reflection, every shadow stretched long. The ValeCorp tower loomed above it all, a monolith of black glass and steel, its peak lost in clouds. At its base, a courtyard of marble steps gleamed wet, guarded by men in black suits whose movements were too sharp, too disciplined to belong to ordinary security. Wolves disguised as executives. Vampires with their hunger wrapped in silk.
Aria watched from the back of a stolen sedan parked three blocks away, her pulse steady but fierce. The tower felt alive, a predator of its own, humming with power and arrogance. The closer she looked, the more it resembled a shrine—every line designed to inspire awe, to remind those who en
