The rain began just after midnight.
Not the gentle kind that whispered against windows, but a steady, deliberate fall that coated the city in glassy reflections and turned every streetlight into a blurred halo. From the floor-to-ceiling windows of Dwayne's apartment, the skyline looked distorted, as if reality itself were bending under pressure.
Courtney couldn't sleep.
She sat curled in the corner of the sofa, one knee drawn to her chest, her fingers wrapped loosely around a mug of tea that had long since gone cold. The apartment was quiet except for the distant hum of traffic and the faint tapping of rain against the glass. Her mind, however, was anything but quiet.
Every headline she'd read that day replayed itself in sharp fragments.
Empire Brands credibility questioned.
Board uncertainty rises.
Internal conflict rumored.
Each one felt like a finger pressing against her chest, testing how much pressure she could withstand before cracking.
