Chapter 1 - THE ROOM BEHIND THE SCREENThe rain began just after midnight.
It came down hard against the glass walls of the Blackwood Tower, turning Manhattan into a smear of silver and black beneath the storm.
Inside the forty-second floor, everything was silent.
Too silent.
Evelyn Carter stood alone in the executive conference room, staring at the enormous screen mounted on the far wall. The board meeting had ended nearly an hour ago, yet she had not moved.
On the table in front of her sat a single empty chair.
Marcus Blackwood's chair.
Three days ago, Marcus had been declared dead.
Car accident.
That's what the police report said.
That's what the newspapers printed.
That's what everyone believed.
But Evelyn didn't.
Because ten minutes earlier, the screen behind the empty chair had turned on by itself.
A video appeared.
Marcus was sitting in a dark room.
Alive.
His face was pale. His eyes were terrified.
“Evelyn,” he whispered into the camera, “if you're watching this, it means they found you.”
She stopped breathing.
Marcus leaned closer.
“Do not trust the board.”
The screen suddenly went black.
Then a second message appeared.
NOW EVERYONE WILL WATCH HER DIE BEFORE THEY DECIDE WHO OWNS THE COMPANY.
Evelyn stared at the words.
Behind her, the conference-room door slowly opened.
She turned.
No one was there.
May you like
Then she heard footsteps.
Coming from the room behind the screen.
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