Live Wire

"I didn't touch it. I looked at it." Modesty Berniece reads buildings the way other people read books—quietly, precisely, uncovering what's hidden beneath the surface. When she's hired to rewire the long-abandoned Aldermere estate, she expects faulty circuits, outdated systems, and a job that demands her full attention. She doesn't expect Maddy Sharalyn. Maddy is a preservation specialist determined to protect every inch of Aldermere's history. Where Modesty sees what must be changed, Maddy sees what must be saved. Every decision becomes a negotiation—between past and present, structure and story, function and meaning. As they move through the estate—through shadowed corridors, fragile plasterwork, and rooms that haven't held voices in decades—their work begins to overlap in ways neither can ignore. Small conversations stretch longer. Silence becomes something shared. And the space between them starts to feel charged with something neither of them names. But Aldermere is a place built on what's been sealed away. Hidden rooms, overlooked flaws, and slow-burning faults threaten the careful balance they've built—both in the building and between them. Because some things can be repaired. Others have to be uncovered. And some connections, once sparked, refuse to stay contained.