Chapter One: The Stolen Blueprint

Marcus kept smiling. “Your emotional behavior has affected our client relationship. Obsidian Design has no place for people who do not understand collaboration.” A kraft envelope slid toward her. Immediate termination, no severance. The company also demanded repayment of forty thousand dollars under its training agreement. Added to her student loans and the medical debt left after her father’s death, she owed exactly $80,327. Twenty-nine years old. Unemployed. A credit score on the edge of collapse. Rain turned the city lead-gray as Lena carried her box outside. She did not cry. She calculated. Her checking account held $11,600, and rent was due next week. At minimum payments, she would spend seven years paying interest on Marcus’s lie.