Brook dragged a fifty-pound bag of dog food across the concrete floor of the storage room.
She wore a faded canvas vest covered in dry mud and dog hair.
Her muscles burned with the effort, but she welcomed the physical strain.
Mitch Kowalski, the shelter's security guard, jogged over to help her lift the heavy bag onto the shelf.
He handed her a bottle of ice water.
You are working like you have a death wish today, Brook.
Mitch laughed, wiping sweat from his own forehead.
Brook took the bottle and drank half of it in one go.
The freezing water hit her stomach, helping to wash away the lingering image of Damon's furious face from this morning.
She walked into the small breakroom and sat down on the worn-out bench.
She absentmindedly reached for a magazine sitting on the coffee table.
It was an outdated issue of Hamptons Life.
She flipped it open, and her eyes instantly locked onto a full-page spread.
It was a photo from the elite socialite party three years ago.
The memory rushed into her brain, bringing the smell of salty ocean air and the blinding glare of string lights.
She remembered hiding behind a towering champagne pyramid that night.
She had watched her half-sister, Aliyah, floating through the crowd in a custom gown.
Aliyah had been holding a glass of wine, desperately trying to get close to Damon Vaughn.
Aliyah had wanted to secure a marriage alliance to elevate her status.
Brook remembered the sick feeling in her stomach, the urge to ruin Aliyah's perfect plan and get revenge for her mother.
She had made the most reckless decision of her life.
She had taken off her conservative jacket, revealing a scandalous red silk slip dress underneath.
She had grabbed a glass of whiskey and walked out toward the balcony.
She had timed her steps perfectly, pretending her ankle gave out right as Damon walked down the corridor.
She had crashed directly into his wide, solid chest.
Damon had not even glanced at Aliyah.
He had wrapped his arm around Brook's waist, his dark eyes scanning her face with a dangerous curiosity.
Later that night, in the guest bedroom of the Hamptons estate, Brook had kissed him first.
That single action had started the three-year underground arrangement.
Mitch called her name from the hallway, pulling her violently back to the present.
A golden retriever nudged its wet nose against her hand.
Brook let out a bitter laugh.
She closed the magazine and tossed it straight into the trash can.
She buried that shameful beginning at the bottom of the bin.
By two in the afternoon, Brook had changed into a clean hoodie.
She rode a rented bike to the Brooklyn Navy Yard, pulling up to the massive tech incubator building.
The open workspace was filled with the loud clacking of keyboards and the grinding of espresso machines.
This place was her sanctuary, a world completely separate from the fake smiles of high society.
She walked into her rented, cramped studio space.
She flipped the power switches on her complex electronic equipment and ring lights.
Brook sat down in front of her monitors and began testing the audio for her Artifex tech stream.
She reached into her drawer and pulled out a cyberpunk-style half-mask.
She strapped it over her face, securing her digital armor.
She clicked the button to go live.
Hundreds of hardcore tech enthusiasts flooded into the chat room immediately.
The screen filled with scrolling text asking about the robotic arm code she had showcased yesterday.
Brook leaned into the microphone, her voice steady and confident as she answered the technical questions.
Her eyes were focused, completely different from the quiet, submissive girl she played around Damon.
Suddenly, a blinding gold animation exploded across her screen.
A new user with the ID Null_Pointer had just entered the room.
The user did not type a single word in the chat.
They dropped a massive one-thousand-dollar donation, sending the comment section into a frenzy.
Brook felt a cold prickle at the back of her neck.
She stared at the cryptic, unfamiliar ID.
A heavy sense of unease settled in her stomach, making her skin crawl with the feeling of being watched.
She forced a polite thank you into the microphone and tried to pivot back to the coding discussion.
But the invisible pressure radiating from that username refused to fade.
At that exact moment, inside a private booth at a high-end Manhattan club, Damon sat on a leather sofa.
He was staring coldly at the screen of his iPad.
His best friend, Carmelo Woods, walked over holding a glass of whiskey.
Carmelo glanced down at the screen and raised an eyebrow, surprised to see Damon watching a niche tech stream.
Damon hit the power button, turning the screen black instantly.
He placed the iPad face down on the table.
Shut your mouth.
Damon warned, his voice dripping with a dark threat.
He picked up his own glass and drained the liquor.
His mind was entirely consumed by the image of Brook in that mask.
He promised himself he would rip every single layer of her disguise away.
