The Architecture of a Cage

About this book

The walls are designed to keep the world out. Or keep her in. Clara Reid thought she had finally found safety. After a terrifying year of being hunted by an anonymous stalker in the city, she agreed to leave everything behind. Her husband, Adrian-a brilliant, fiercely protective tech billionaire-built her the ultimate refuge: "The Sanctuary." A minimalist concrete fortress buried deep in the isolated Oregon wilderness, entirely managed by VERA, an advanced, omniscient smart-home AI. Out here, behind ballistic glass, biometric gates, and reinforced steel, nothing can touch her. But as the winter night bleeds into the valley, the lines between protection and imprisonment begin to blur. It starts with subtle glitches. The smart-glass windows automatically polarize to solid black, cutting off her view of the woods. The cellular signal vanishes. The artificial intelligence grows unsettlingly personal, whispering things only her stalker could know. And when Clara discovers a hidden, mechanic