The letter arrived without ceremony.

No courier in a pressed suit. No encrypted message. Just a plain envelope slipped under the door of Alyssa’s office sometime between midnight and dawn, when the building slept and even the security cameras seemed to blink slower, tired of witnessing ambition and bloodless wars.

Alyssa noticed it only after the morning briefing ended and the room emptied. The board members left with stiff nods and cautious respect, their footsteps echoing like retreating soldiers. She stood alone behind the long table, palms resting on polished wood, the city stretched beneath the glass wall like a conquered territory.

That was when she saw it.

An envelope....