Chapter 120: The Moment Before the Fall
Dawn arrived quietly over Manhattan, pale and restrained, as if the city itself understood that something delicate stood on the edge of collapse.
Scarlett had not slept.
She stood by the window of the penthouse, the glass cool beneath her fingertips, watching the slow bloom of light across the skyline. The world outside continued as it always did, indifferent, relentless, unaware.
Inside, everything had shifted.
Behind her, the room remained dim. The faint glow of Rachel's tablet flickered from the table, casting moving shadows across the walls. The air held a stillness that was not peaceful, but focused.
Waiting.
Julian stepped into the room without sound.
Scarlett did not turn immediately. She felt his presence before she saw him, a quiet gravity that altered the space around him.
"You stayed up," he said.
It was not a question.
Scarlett allowed herself a small breath. "So did you."
