Adrian had spent most of his life believing that control could solve anything. Control built companies, managed crises, shaped public perceptions, and kept emotions from becoming liabilities.
For years, he had relied on that belief, he made an effort to keep it going even after everything around him started to crumble. Yet as he stood alone in his office late that evening, Adrian finally understood a painful truth that some losses could not be controlled, some mistakes could not be corrected, and some people could not be won back.
The city lights stretched beyond the glass walls around him. Once, that view had represented success; now it only reminded him how isolated he had become. His phone rested on the desk beside him; a message remained open on the screen. It contained only a time and location and a request for a meeting, nothing more, nothing less, and Seraphina had agreed to one final conversation.
