Chapter 2: The Architecture of Ruin

Daniel seized me by the elbow—careful this time to keep his grip gentle enough to pass as a husbandly escort to the untrained eye—and forcefully guided me out of the grand ballroom and into a dimly lit, acoustic-paneled corridor.

“Have you entirely lost your grip on reality?” he hissed, his face inches from mine, a frantic vein pulsing at his temple.

“Do you have any earthly idea who her father is?”

I adjusted the strap of my clutch, smoothing an invisible wrinkle from my tailored blazer.

“Of course I do. Carlo Moretti. A notoriously corrupt real estate contractor who paved half of this city’s infrastructure using embezzled government subsidies and falsified structural safety reports.”

Daniel’s complexion turned the color of week-old snow.

He stumbled back half a step, his mouth opening and closing like a suffocating fish.

Before he could formulate a lie, the sharp, staccato click-clack of stiletto heels echoed down the hall.