Echoes in the Mortar

Polina Orlova has spent her life as the family charity case, her dreams of becoming a master Restorer crushed by the cruel whims of her adoptive mother, Zofia. Publicly disgraced and barred from the Krovnian Restoration Academy, Polina maintains a façade of cheerful incompetence to survive, all while secretly honing her skills and protecting her younger, sickly brother, Misha. At Zofia’s funeral, a chance encounter with the notoriously demanding Jarek Volkov - her former rival and now the head of the city's most elite restoration firm - lands her a probationary role on a high-stakes project. It's the perfect opportunity to expose the Orlov family's deep-rooted corruption. But as Jarek's sharp eyes begin to see through her act, Polina realizes the 'rules' of Krovnian high society she thought she was exploiting were a complete fabrication. Now, she's trapped in a game she doesn't understand, with a rival who might be her only ally - or the architect of her final downfall. Can she salvage her revenge from the rubble of her own misunderstanding?