Chapter One: The Farewell Letter

Nothing explained why the man wearing the Under-23 captain's armband yesterday could not open the training-ground turnstile today. June rain polished the Royal Bluehaven training centre outside. At twelve, Lin had watched first-team players cross that same rain. His father had crouched to tighten his laces. “Don't be afraid if they're taller,” he had said. “The ball stays on the ground.” His father died six years later, but Lin kept coming. Bluehaven arranged counselling. Manager Arthur Grant personally brought him a first-team shirt. It had no number, only a handwritten message: Earn your own. Lin had thought he had earned the right to stay.