Cold Hearth, Quiet Knives

I bought Meike’s life for three thousand credits, handing the cash to a back-alley surgeon in exchange for her pristine ID chip and a promise to incinerate her corpse. Now, I wear her name, a pressed apron, and a suffocatingly cheerful smile as the newest maid in the Vossen Penthouse. It is the perfect cover to fund a safe haven for my little brother, Kobus, far from the syndicate hunting us. My new employer, Bram Vossen, hasn't spoken a word since his own board of directors slaughtered his loyalists. He is a scarred, paranoid phantom who expects me to break. Instead, I play the relentless sunshine to his gloom. The facade works too well. Our silent truce solidifies over the battered stray dog I smuggled into the greenhouse, and Bram soon becomes fiercely dependent on my quiet competence and spiced stews. But peace is fragile. When Anika Volland, a vicious supermodel and board-member's daughter, begins tormenting me to assert her dominance, she threatens to expose my stolen identity. If she digs too deep, will I be forced to butcher this high-society elite to protect the only sanctuary we have left?