Content Warning: This section discusses murder, death, violence, sexual assault, stalking, drugging and kidnapping, suicide, and panic attacks.
Stella Alonso has been a magazine assistant at DC Style in Washington, DC, for four years, and she works under the authority of her demanding boss, Meredith. In addition to the usual exhaustion that her job causes, Stella is extra stressed about a recent email she received. Greenfield Senior Living—where she pays for the care of Maura, a woman with Alzheimer’s whom Stella considers more like family than her actual family—has decided to raise their monthly costs to $6,500. To cover the extra costs, Stella must figure out a way to increase her income through her social media influencer career; the upcoming influencer dinner with Delamonte in New York to fill their brand ambassador position is the perfect opportunity.
On her walk home from work, Stella is assaulted by the freezing winter weather. A black McLaren pulls up beside her, and the window rolls down, revealing Christian Harper—the CEO of a top-notch security company and the owner of The Mirage, the building where Stella lives. They’ve only spoken a handful of times, but Christian was benevolent enough to work out a deal with Stella: In exchange for her taking care of the
By Ana Huang