This audiobook is narrated by a digital voice.

The rain hammered against the floor-to-ceiling windows of the forty-second floor, each drop a percussion note in the symphony of my carefully orchestrated life. I stood behind my mahogany desk, hands clasped behind my back, watching the city sprawl beneath me like a conquered territory. New York was mine in every way that mattered—every steel beam, every flashing neon sign, every soul scurrying through the streets below answered to my empire in one form or another.

My empire. Kozlov Industries. Built from nothing but ambition and the kind of ruthless determination that would make weaker men recoil in horror.

The intercom buzzed, a sound that usually brought me satisfaction. Tonight, it merely interrupted my brooding.

"Mr. Kozlov, she's here," came the voice of my assistant, Marcus, through the speaker. There was something in his tone—hesitation, perhaps even concern—that made my jaw tighten.

"Send her in."

The heavy oak doors to my office opened with a soft whisper, and she walked in. Sophia Chen. Twenty-six years old, according to her file. Five foot six, with long black hair that caught the light like silk and eyes the color of midnight storms. She moved with the fluid grace of someone who had learned to navigate dangerous waters, her chin held high despite the circumstances that had brought her here.