I snapped my mouth shut. Because the worst part? I believed him.
The car pulled cleanly to the curb in front of a building that didn’t scream for attention—but didn’t need to.
Tall. Glass and steel. Doorman already stepping forward before we even fully stopped.
Alois was out of the car before I could process it, openingmy door, reaching for my hand like this was routine. “Let’s go.”
“What is this?” I asked, letting him pull me out anyway.
“You’ll see.”
I narrowed my eyes. “You’re enjoying this.”
He didn’t answer.
The elevator ride was silent.
Private. No buttons. No stops. No one else. Just the two of us and the quiet hum of machinery carrying us somewhere I hadn’t agreed to go.
I shifted beside him, hyper-aware of everything—the enclosed space, the absence of anyone else, the way Alois stood like this was routine for him, like being carried up through a private building in Manhattan before sunrise didn’t warrant explanation.
“Last chance,” I growled. “You want to tell me what’s happening?”
His gaze flicked to mine. “No.”
I exhaled, long and slow. “Unbelievable.”
The elevator stopped.
A beat of stillness.
Then the doors slid open—the space unfolding slowly in front of me, clean lines and warm light settling over dark wood floors that looked almost black in the early morning glow. The air felt different—warmer, quieter, like the outside world had been deliberately left behind.
I didn’t move right away.
I took one step forward, then another, my gaze pulling toward the far end of the room—and then I saw it.
Floor-to-ceiling windows stretching across the entire back wall.
The Hudson spread wide beyond them, steady and endless, the city rising up around it in layers of steel and glassand light just beginning to wake. The sun hadn’t fully broken yet, but it was close—soft gold threading through buildings, catching on the water, turning everything into something that felt almost… suspended.
My breath caught before I could stop it. “Oh my God,” I whispered, the words breathlessly falling as I moved toward the glass without thinking, drawn in by it. My hand lifted instinctively to rest lightly against the cool surface. From up here, the city didn’t feel chaotic. It felt… structured. Beautiful. A moving masterpiece dancing below.
“There’s no better view in the city that I know of,” Alois said behind me.
Not a question.
I shook my head slowly, still staring out at the skyline. “It’s amazing. I’ve never…” the words trailed off as the awesome view consumed me.
“You said that last night,” he sighed, like that explained everything.
I turned then, slowly, trying to reconcile the man standing behind me with the one who had dragged me out of bed like the building was on fire.
“You brought me here… for this?” I asked.
His expression didn’t shift. All he offered was a slight shrug. “Flight leaves in a few hours,” he stammered. “You weren’t going to see anything from the bus.”
I eyed him for a second longer than I should have, something quiet and unsettled shifting in my chest. “This doesn’t make sense,” I murmured, more to myself than him.