CHAPTER 1
HARLEY
I almost didn’t go.
The envelope sat on my kitchen counter for three days before I finally opened it. Thick black paper. No return address. My name written across the front in gold ink like someone had taken their time with every single letter.
Harley Rutherford.
Most mail I get these days is either a bill or a warning that a bill is coming.
This felt… different.
I noticed it the moment I picked it up from the mailbox. It had weight to it. Not just the paper, but the feeling of it.
My apartment is quiet tonight. The kind of quiet that creeps into your head if you sit with it long enough. The fridge hums. Pipes knock somewhere behind the walls. My laptop glows on the coffee table with an unpaid rent reminder blinking in my inbox.
Third one this week.
I lean against the counter and stare at the envelope again.
I should just throw it away.
That’s the smart thing to do. Mysterious invitations don’t show up in the mail for people like me. Not unless they’re scams. Or someone decided to play a stupid prank on me.
Stil…
Curiosity is a dangerous thing.
I slide a finger beneath the seal and tear it open.
Inside is a single matte black card.
There’s only a few words printed on it.
Private Event.
Exclusive Guest Access.
A night that will change your life forever.
I snort quietly.
“Yeah, right.”
Flipping it over, I find a time and an address.
No explanation. No company name. No contact number.
Just a place. And a time.
Tomorrow night.
I should toss it in the trash and forget about it. Except the address is in one of the richest parts of the city.
The kind of place where buildings don’t even bother putting signs outside because the people who belong there already know where they’re going.
I rub the back of my neck and glance around my apartment.
