Chapter 27. Echoed Steps

The building stood like a beacon of glass and light, its soaring angles and polished planes shimmering in the late afternoon sun. Everywhere you looked, reflections of steel beams and transparent walls refracted light into dancing patterns on the marble beneath. It was a pristine fusion of architecture and spectacle—an emblem of modernism draped in the trappings of wealth.

Inside, the grand atrium vibrated with the polite hum of an elite gathering: conversations in hushed, confident tones; the soft scrape of designer boots on flawless stone; and the delicate clink of champagne glasses, each pop of cork punctuating the curated laughter that unfurled like an invisible ribbon through the air.

Subtle scent diffusers released notes of white tea and bergamot, mingling with the faint tang of perspiration from too many bodies in tailored suits. Above it all, screens flickered with corporate logos and high-concept art installations—abstract visuals that melted into one another,