The theme of her office was wooden. Plain, but pleasing.
Her desk was made of glass. Other furniture was wood. Bamboo curtains covered the window and glass door, filtering light into something soft. Everything in her office was beautiful and luxurious - but understated. Never flashy.
The other room in the compartment belonged to her two employees.
Haily handled office work as a paralegal. Jan handled investigations. Both were women.
Jan was thirty-seven. Former military. She'd been an outstanding soldier, but left in disappointment three years ago when a female colleague died in the line of duty and her death wasn't properly honoured. Victoria met her through an apartment sale, Jan bought Victoria's old place, and in that process, they came to know each other. When Victoria learned her story, she offered her a job.
Jan agreed willingly. The work was still risky, but Victoria paid well. She'd been with Victoria for over two years now. She wasn't talkative, but she enjoyed life quietly. She only came to the office to report or rest - investigations kept her out most days. She was also skilled in martial arts, which had proven useful more than once.
Haily was twenty-one, soon to be twenty-two. She'd been with Victoria the longest - over three years.
She came from a normal family, but lost her father at eighteen. Alone and searching for work, living poorly, she'd crossed paths with Victoria just as Victoria's career was beginning to take off. Victoria taught her everything. Haily learned fast.
Now she was Victoria's assistant, handling office work with quiet efficiency. Victoria even let her stay in the office sometimes - living alone wasn't always safe, and the office was secure. Haily was warm, cheerful, and hard-working. She made the atmosphere relaxed and peaceful.
She rarely made mistakes. When she did, Victoria never scolded. She simply taught.
The three of them worked well together.
Easy-going. Harmonious. Haily and Jan chatted about this and that, enjoying life in their own ways. They respected Victoria deeply.
But despite working together for years, they couldn't get close to her.
They knew how kind she was. How soft-hearted. They'd seen it in the way she took cases no one else would touch, in the way she never charged clients who couldn't pay, in the fire she brought to every courtroom. When Victoria got angry fighting for a client, she looked scary, but those who knew her felt warm instead, because she got so angry for others.
But that warmth never reached them personally.
Victoria was cold. Reserved. Impossible to read. She spoke when necessary and not a word more. The walls around her were invisible but absolute.
Haily and Jan accepted this. They didn't need to be her friends. They just needed to be near her - to witness what she did, to help her do it, to be part of something meaningful.
That was enough.
At the start, Victoria didn't take many cases. She was learning, understanding the way the world worked. But once she understood, she never looked back.
Case after case. Victory after victory.
She never lost. Not once.
Now she was a well-known lawyer in the capital. Her name carried weight. But she never appeared in public, never agreed to interviews. She had an official website for notices, and that was all.
The woman who had once been cheerful and talkative now existed behind glass desks and bamboo curtains, fighting battles no one saw, winning victories no one celebrated with her.
Haily and Jan were the closest thing she had to companions.
And even they couldn't reach her.