Chapter 11 - 64: 3—Entry into a New Life
The lobby didn't just look expensive—it felt expensive. Like the kind of place where even your thoughts needed a dress code.
The floor was white marble, the real kind, not the fake tile shit people slap on their kitchen counters. It gleamed like it'd never known dirt. The chandeliers didn't hang—they dripped. Crystal so sharp and delicate it looked like it could whisper "get broke" at you and you'd feel it in your soul. Somewhere in the background, a live piano track played, soft and elegant.
Not off Spotify. No. This was the kind of ambiance that probably required a whole-ass licensing deal. Just existing in this lobby probably cost someone's rent.
There was no crowd. No foot traffic. No noisy kids or overworked front desk scrambling to check IDs.
This place wasn't busy—it was curated. Like someone personally approved the air itself before letting it in. Jayden stood still for a moment, breathing it in. Cold outside. Warm as sin in here.
Nobody asked him who he was. No clipboard. No suspicious glances.
The man led Jayden across the lobby and down a hallway that didn't even look like a hallway—it looked like part of a luxury watch commercial. Polished wood. Spotless mirrors. Recessed lighting that glowed without ever feeling bright.
They stopped in front of a sleek elevator with no visible buttons.
"This elevator only operates with biometrics," the guard said, voice flat but polite. "Follow me."
Jayden raised an eyebrow but didn't argue. They turned left, then stepped through a glass-panel door into what looked like a goddamn spaceship control room. Screens, panels, security feeds from every angle.
Another guy was inside, sitting at a curved console with touchscreens spread out like a hacker's wet dream.