Chapter One: After Midnight

A man in a long black coat knelt beside her, his mouth pressed to her bleeding wrist. Even blurred, his face was unmistakable. Pei Du, executive director of the Everday Corporation. In ten years of financial magazine profiles, he had not aged a day. Zhou's handwriting covered the back: THIS ISN'T THE FIRST TIME YOU'VE MET HIM. SOMEONE TOOK THAT TIME AWAY. Three knocks sounded at the apartment door. Measured. Courteous. “Ms. Lin Jianyue,” an unfamiliar man said from the hallway. “The Everday Corporation has been authorized to protect citizens whose manifestation is incomplete. Please permit us to enter.” She slid the photographs into the inner pocket of her raincoat and switched off the darkroom light.