Damien didn’t even look at her. He made the familiar dismissive gesture. Not cruel. Not angry. Just empty. He carried no cash—everything was cards, apps, systems. To him, poverty was background noise.
He was about to step through the glass doors when a memory buzzed in his head like a mosquito.
The week before, it had rained. From his second-floor office, he’d seen the girl again—but she wasn’t begging.
She was dancing.
VERTEX’s window displayed a single mannequin under theatrical lights: a crimson silk dress so expensive it felt like a joke. Luna, barefoot on wet pavement, spun with strange, natural grace. Arms out. Head tilted. As if the mannequin were her partner and the red dress the life she’d never have.
The sight had unsettled Damien. A sharp flicker of pity—something he hated feeling. He’d looked away and returned to spreadsheets.
Now the memory faded. He adjusted his cufflinks and continued inside.
Waiting for him was Ethan Cole, his half-brother and general manager of the store. The only man Damien called “family” without feeling like he was lying. Ethan was loyal, precise, dependable. If the empire ran smoothly, it was because of him.
Damien allowed himself a faint smile.