Jason Jae’s mornings usually unfolded like clockwork: a seamless rotation of coffee, strategy calls, and carefully curated meetings. He didn’t leave room for surprises. But that morning, despite the Manhattan skyline glimmering in sharp autumn light through the floor-to-ceiling windows of his office, something unsettled him. It wasn’t the numbers on the quarterly report spread across his desk, or the half-dozen urgent emails blinking red on his monitor. No, it was the gnawing sense that a thread had been pulled somewhere in his life—and if he didn’t trace it, everything he had worked to keep in control would unravel.
He adjusted the cufflinks on his navy suit, the gesture mechanical, a ritual to steady his thoughts. Across the room, Bobby slouched in one of the leather chairs opposite his
