Chapter 1: The Gilded Cage
Ava Thompson's POV
Yesterday's coffee and the city's damp pavement grime filmed over my small Chinatown apartment. Aching and filtered through the grimy mesh of the fire escape that extended out past my single window, dawn light striped peeling wallpaper like bars in a prison. But the letter in my palm dispelled bleakness. Sterling Architecture. The thick, dense paper resembled a passport, the gold-stamped crest a whiff of grubby realism. My hand touched it in respect. Dream do come true.
A shiver, pure and electric, ran through me, momentarily drowning out the rumble of delivery trucks and distant sirens. Five years of burning the midnight oil, internships that paid in experience and ramen noodles, portfolios scrutinized and rejected – all culminating in this single piece of paper. This wasn’t just a job offer; it was the master key to the glittering kingdom I’d spent my life sketching from the outside. Myskyline. My legacy.
"Mom will finally be able to relax," I said to myself, a genuine smile spreading across my face as I ironed the simple black dress I'd hidden away and saved three months for.
"No more 'practical' tips about how to teach or how to interior design. That's it. The actual beginning." I pictured myself strolling past Sterling's legendary design offices, my dreams brought to life in glass and steel, my name on plans that would reconfigure the city. Sterling as a brand was not merely upscale; it was actually architectural monolith. And now, miraculously, it was in my possession.
The persistent, ringing clang of my burner phone shattered the fine bubble. Isabelle Thompson's name flashed on the broken screen – "Mom!" I squeaked, it’s impossible to stifle. "You won't believe—"
Her voice cut through mine, golden and warm. "Ava, darling! Stop! You won't believe this! Marcus proposed to me! Last night! Le Bernardin! Candles, city view, diamond! It's gigantic, it's so gigantic!" Her words rolled over each other.
My fingers burrowed deeper into the Sterling letter. "Marcus? Marcus who?" The name filtered through dully.
"Marcus Sterling, silly!" Isabelle exclaimed. The name hit me like a gut punch. My breath stopped. No. No way. "Your new stepdad! He's ridiculously charming. So in tune! He has half of Manhattan in his back pocket!"
The cream paper felt like a ton in my hand, slick, heavy, poisonous. Victory turned into icy fear churning in the pit of my stomach. My eyes narrowed. "Sterling? Like. Sterling Architecture Sterling?"
Please no.
"Of course, darling! Julian Sterling’s brother! Your new boss's uncle! Isn't it perfect? Serendipity! And the best part," she rushed on, dropping her voice, "he pulled some strings. That junior architect position? Consider it his wedding gift! My little girl, working at Sterling! We’ll be family!"
Family. The word spat in my head, empty and wicked. The golden ticket a gilded trap. My ideal career besmirched, a stranger's favour irretrievably bound up in my life. My new stepfather. My boss's brother. The repercussions daunted me – favouritism rumor, anonymity gone, smothering "family" expectations in a pack of wolves.
"You. you married my boss's brother," I wailed, exiting, the words raw-scraping. "And you didn't tell me. You made me interview, sweat bullets, hope. now tell me it was rigged? After I've had the offer?" Anger flared under the shock. "Mom, this is no gift. This is a time bomb in Tiffany wrapping."
Isabelle's expression is relaxed, the usual combination of rejection and pain. "Ava, don't be dramatic! It's an amazing opportunity! Marcus just greased the skids. He believes in you! We do too! Now, chin up, slip on that little black dress, and blow them away today! Ta, darling!"
The contrast between the plugged, rainbow-hued Chinatown and the antiseptic, numbing sophistication of the glass-skyscraper offices of Sterling Architecture was blinding. The black marble and stained glass tower overwhelmed the sun, reflecting glassy city skewing. My simple dress stood out, my portfolio a shield.
Reception directed me to the 40th floor. The quiet elevator nudged my stomach into my ribcage. Julian Sterling's kingdom. My new boss. My step-uncle-by-marriage. Ridiculousness whirled through my brain.
The doors swooshed open onto a museum-like floor. Enormous windows bleached with a blinding Manhattan view. A no-nonsense-looking woman showed me to gigantic double doors. "Mr. Sterling will see you soon." Her smile dropped just shy of her eyes.
I stayed with knees locked firmly together, oozing confidence that did not exist. Breathe, Ava. You've earned it. But Isabelle's words snuck in: "He pulled some strings." Doubt crept in.
The double doors creaked open. Not by the assistant, but by the man himself.
Julian Sterling dominated the doorway. A tall, well-tailored man in charcoal, with silver-shot hair swept back from the tightly etched face. But his eyes stopped me dead. Ice-blue and sharp, they scanned me like a high-tech blueprint on test. His eyes moved from my pumps, down the dress, lingered fractionally too long on the face, before settling at last on my eyes. Power was a charged current.
"Miss Thompson." Low, gentle voice, no rising intonation. "Welcome."
He extended his hand. Hard, slender fingers, long. Designer's fingers, ruler's. I put mine in his, small and damp. His was a hard, crisp, business handshake. But in the split second flesh touched, I glimpsed it. A flash – surprise? Recognition? Disapproval? – so quick I might have imagined it. But beneath the stiff mask, his knuckles, where he wrapped the slender pen in the other hand, lightened noticeably. A little fissure in the ice.
"Mr. Sterling," I pressed, pushing my hand out of contact, the pressure a searing brand. "Thank you. I'm so glad."
Nodding curt, cold eyes intent, he spoke. "Your thesis uncovered unsuspected promise." He paused, emphasizing 'unforeseen' with lead weights. "We'll see if the promise holds. This way."
He turned away. When I tried to follow him, my eyes raked the room. And I saw him.
Leaned back against a swooping shadow, half-hidden behind the fern pot, stood a youth. Black, uncontrollable hair dropped over his brow as he leaned forward over a sketchbook, the charcoal sweeping with savage, near-violent purpose. Dark blue jeans, black t-shirt, worn leather jacket – a mixture of contrasts to sterility. He was not gazing at his drawing. He was gazing straight at me.
His eyes blazed, black as the obsidian he adored, blazing with unsettling hunger and accusation. They stripped away my professional facade. He stared at me as though he knew something that I didn't, as though he perceived cracks beneath the surface. Unwelcome and discomfiting heat started to gather low in my stomach. Stupid. Crazy. Impossible. The scream ended in silence, but I couldn't look away. Who was he?
Julian sensed my hesitation, turned to follow the line of my eyes. A twitch in the muscle of his jaw. "Caleb," he said, his tone icy, threatening. "Aren't you supposed to be on-site?"
The dark-haired man – Caleb – did not blink. His eyes remained locked on me for an anxious moment – an unspoken message I could not decipher – before he made himself look away, slowly, consciously. The brush-off was real. Julian's expression hardened into an even more ruthless mask, but he indicated I should continue along a hallway.
My heart pounded. Julian unsettling. Caleb volatile. Unbalanced, adrift in undertows that swirled beneath the surface.
I lagged behind Julian, fighting to keep names and faces in synch. Hazy. We entered a sleek kitchen, Woman against the espresso machine, spun around. Spun to confront us, steam rising from cup in her hand. Breathtaking. Sleek blonde pixie cut. Scandalously brief red dress. Hard eyes as hard as Julian's, but with piercing, discerning examination. This is Victoria Hayes. Senior Executive. Hard. Mastermind.
I moved forward, with Julian behind, Victoria "tripped." Elegant, honed spin. Burning coffee splashed, staining my skirt. Heat seared my flesh.
"Oh! Oooh, clumsy me!" Victoria shouted, pretended concern sparkling. She batted harmlessly, her eyes open, untamed. Close-up, they were savage. Overpowering, heavy floral perfume over coffee. Her whisper, toxic silk, was for my ears only:
"Hello, kid. Warning? Sterlings eat good, lively bits like you and spit out the bone. Run. While you're able to."
She stepped back, expression instantly one of apology for Julian. "Sorry, horribly. My heel caught. Facilities will provide a cleaning kit."
Julian's face was still blank, his eyes skittering between the guilty expression on Victoria's face and the spreading dark blot on my chest – a mark of shame. Rage struggled with shame. Victoria's sharp, bitter words lingered in my head. Chew up. Run while you can.
I got up, the coffee staining my dress, the drips of cold fear freezing into cold fear. The gilded cage door had slammed shut. The hunters were closing in.