Chapter 1: Introduction
The bar was a warm amber glow amidst the kaleidoscopic city streets, pulsating to the beats of an unnamed SoundCloud artist. A place to hide in plain sight, where spoken secrets licked the thick, sweet air and bodies writhed to the promise of something forbidden. The type of place you only ever knew about from that friend of a friend and swore you'd never step foot in-a tantalizing enigma that tickled your senses.
Until, that is, you found yourself in need of a drink and a story.
And that's where Emily Johnson found herself tonight. Sipping on a neon-hued concoction and idly flipping the ice cubes around her glass, Emily cast her gaze over the horde of writhing bodies. The lucky ones would pair off and lose themselves in the ever-shifting crowd, while the unlucky ones would call an Uber to return to their lonely apartment.