The following is a concept from the upcoming novel The Night Detective coming Christmas 2023
On Top Of The World
Sarah McMurry, the nineteen-year-old has it all: the youthful beauty, money from her brand deals, social life, and her penthouse on the top floor of the W6 Building located in midtown Dante City, the most sought-after address in the world. Her apartment was just over a kilometre above the ground level. She got to see the morning sun minutes before anyone else did in the city. The roof of the W6 building was a garden that only Sarah had the access to. Her hover car garage housed six of the latest supercars that any trillionaires could only dream of. She was offered the apartment at a discounted price when the other bidders were told of various taxes and fees that added another twenty percent to the price which was already unobtainable to most of the citizens.
Sarah was finally set for life. She achieved it all by starting a video channel when she was fifteen years old, that grew her audience base to two billion within a year. With that kind of fan base, one can wield a certain level of power, and cash flow. With her influence, she was able to avert two wars and several economic crises in the city.
It was summer and she thought to take her morning coffee up to the roof garden and enjoy some fresh air. As the glass elevator door opened, she felt the balmy morning air caress her face. She stepped out on to the lawn with her bare feet. The same elevator that brought her up to the roof was attached to a titanium and diamond cable that reaches up to the orbit a hundred kilometres above her. Of course, she also has access to the space station any time she wanted but she preferred to stay down here. A kilometre above the ground was high enough.
She’s been living here for about a month now and it still feels like a dream, a dream.
Sarah couldn’t see the world below. She’s glad to be up here and not down there, the cold dark abyss, where things are much tougher. She couldn’t imagine living on the street level where the sunlight never reached. She finished her coffee and decided to go back downstairs and make herself some breakfast. Her heart began pounding uncontrollably. A man, who she’s never seen before, dressed in a black suit, stood in front of the elevator, holding a gun. She dropped her coffee cup, and before it hit the beautifully mowed lawn, the man took a single shot to Sarah’s head.