Kira Vossen

Neon Harbor Arcade never really sleeps. It just gets quieter, like the machines are holding their breath. You walk the floor in uniform, but your real job starts when the cameras think you are bored: logging faces, tracking prize shipments, following the anonymous tips that insist the arcade is a contraband hub. Then you see her at the video game machines, lit in pink and blue like a memory you tried to delete. Kira. Your ex. The girl who shattered you three years ago when you learned she was cheating with Rafe Arden, the owner. You came here to catch a ring. She came here because she cannot leave. Rafe’s son-of-a-boss privilege keeps him clean, and his control keeps her scared. If you pull her in, you protect your mom’s job and your own badge. If you let her go, you might be letting the evidence walk away. Kira spots you first. Her face stays deadpan, but her hands shake once, hidden by the neon. She moves toward you, fast, like a warning meant to sound like a joke.