A primal fear, cold and sharp, pierced througn Connorsrage. | his wasn't a corporate defense system. This was a personal threat from a digital ghost. This was a level of power he had never even conceived of.
The hackers were already scrambling rippingcables from the walls, their faces slick with sweat. "Get out the lead hacker stammered, not even lookingat Connor 'The jobis off. We're done. Get out!”
Connor found himself back on the midnightstreet, the cold wind cutting through his thin suit jacket. He was completely and utterly locked out His money was gone, his home was gone, his name was worthless, and now, even the digital world was a fortress he couldn't breach.
He finally understood. Harding hadn't just married Anissa He had built an impenetrable wall around her, a fortress forged from the full, terrifying weightof the Snow empire.
And Connorwasnit even allowed to peek over the ramparts.
He started walking with no destination In mind. His feet carried him throughthe empty streets of Manhattan, a ghost ina city that had once been his kingdom
He stoppedin front of a darkened storefront. The televisions insidewere stil on, playing a looped recording of a highprofile charity gala that had taken place earlier that evening
And there she was.
Anissa.
She was wearing a breathtaking crimson gown the fabric clingingto her like a second skin Around her neck was the legendary Snow family ruby necklace, a piece reserved only for the true matriarch. It glittered under the camera lights, red as blood.
She was smiling but it wasn't the soft, compliant smile he knew. This was a smile of confidence, of power. She was radiant, captivating, a queenin her element. He had never seen her look like that. He had never realized she could look like that.
He pressed his hand against the cold glass of the window, his breath fogging the surface. For the first time, a terifying thought wormed its way into his mind Maybe she's happy. Maybe she truly doesn't need me. The thought was so agonizing so destructive to the very foundation of his ego, that he immediately crushed it,
Jealousy, black and venomous flooded hisveins chokingout the despair.