The long limousine rolled through the night along a lonely strip of asphalt that looked far too perfect for how empty it was. The road stretched ahead in a smooth black ribbon polished by moonlight and the faint silver glow of the lake beyond, carrying its passengers toward the other end of Hell's Paradise Island. There were almost no other cars around, which somehow made the road feel less abandoned and more exclusive as though even traffic had been filtered by wealth and found unworthy.
This particular road led toward the buildings that floated above the lake.
From a distance they looked unreal luminous structures resting over dark water with their foundations hidden beneath reflections and engineering arrogance.
