Chapter 1: The Cry in the Dusk
The deal in Tokyo had fallen apart by noon. Millions gone in an instant—but as I drove my black Mercedes through the quiet, tree-lined streets of my neighborhood, money was the last thing on my mind.
I was thinking about Emma. About the promise I’d made to her before she died—that I would protect our children no matter what. And how, in the year and a half since, I’d buried myself in work to avoid the silence she left behind.
I decided to head home early. Surprise them. Take eight-year-old Sophie and eighteen-month-old Nathan to the park before dinner. Try to be the father I’d promised to be.
As I turned onto our street, the sun dipping low and painting the pavement in long shadows, something caught my eye.
