Iris stood in front of the tower again, clutching her small black bag like it could protect her from the man waiting upstairs. She had thought about not coming. She had stared at the text he sent that morning — just a single reminder of the time, nothing more — and debated ignoring it. But she knew he wasn’t bluffing. Men like Darius didn’t bluff. He was the kind of man who made quiet threats sound like facts. And worse, he was the kind of man who delivered on every single one of them.
The lobby was empty, just like the night before. The guard didn’t even glance up when she passed. The elevator doors opened without her pressing a button, almost like it had been expecting her. She stepped inside, pressing herself into the corner as the doors closed and sealed her in. Her reflection stared
