His Savior Was Never My Sister
The warehouse on Pier 17 smelled of salt, rust, and expensive perfume—a fitting cocktail for the business at hand. They called it ‘the Gilded Cage’, a traveling, clandestine auction house for things that couldn’t see daylight: blood diamonds, stolen art, encrypted ledgers containing rivals’ secrets.
The air was cold enough to see your breath, yet the women glittered in gowns worth more than the cars idling outside. I stood near a corroded steel pillar, a glass of champagne I wouldn’t drink held like a prop in my hand, watching the spectacle.