Chapter One: The Ring That Crushed an Elevator

“I need to know what you see when you touch things,” she said. “Hallucinations.” “Hallucinations don’t know about hidden compartments.” Her gaze dropped to his watch. “Yours got heavier too. What are you hiding?” Lin covered the face. He had no memories before age six. His mother blamed a fever. But beneath a crack in the watch crystal, tiny words had surfaced as if squeezed from inside the metal: For Lin Ye. One day before his birth. Across the cordon, Zhao Kai approached with bodyguards. His suit was immaculate, his expression mournful. The skin at the base of his right thumb was smooth, without a scar. He found Lin’s eyes through the crowd and smiled. Two of Lin’s ribs began to ache without warning.