Chapter Four: The Ship That Never Sank

The intercom repeated an order: seal the east compartment and save the vessel. Forty-seven crew had been trapped there with Gu's wife. He had issued that order himself, saving three hundred people and building his reputation for merciless judgment. “This time I'll open it.” Gu ran for the stairs. Zhou blocked him. “Which event are you trying to change? This is your wife's ship, but your son wasn't born until three years after it sank. The room isn't offering a rescue. It's asking you to prove you were right.” Gu knocked him down. “I paid a billion, not for your analysis!” The ship tilted. Seawater rose outside the windows and hardened into screens. Gu Yang at twelve, learning to sail. At seventeen, refusing business school.