The mid-afternoon sun hit the hood of the midnight-blue Maserati, casting a sharp, blinding reflection across the asphalt. Asrar eased the car along the bustling avenue, the low rumble of the engine swallowed by the ambient hum of the city. Pedestrians blurred past on the sidewalks—shoppers carrying paper bags, office workers on coffee runs, couples laughing under the clear, pale sky. None of them looked twice at the dark sedan. Inside, the air conditioning hummed at a precise sixty-eight degrees, but Asrar’s jaw was clamped tight enough to crack a tooth. His phone buzzed in the cup holder. The screen illuminated with a single contact name: Pier 9. Asrar didn’t answer. He smoothly pulled the car toward the curb, sliding into an open space beside a crowded outdoor café. He killed the engine. The sudden silence inside the cabin was suffocating. He let the phone vibrate once, twice, three times. The port authority had just seized a vessel carrying three hundred bales of raw cotton—and fifty kilos of unregistered industrial diamonds tucked inside the weave. A failure of that scale didn't happen by accident. Someone had spoken. Someone he trusted. With a flick of his thumb, Asrar hit the red button on the steering wheel control, cutting the call mid-ring. The screen went dark. He rested his hands on the leather steering wheel, his right pinky ring clicking faintly against the rim. He took a slow, deliberate breath through his nose, forcing his chest to expand, fighting down the hot, prickling rage rising up his neck. Asrar unbuttoned his suit jacket, reached into his breast pocket, and pulled out a freshly ironed white linen handkerchief. He didn't have a speck of dirt on him, but his palms were damp. He wiped each finger slowly, methodically, focusing entirely on the tactile sensation of the fabric until the tremor in his hands subsided. He folded the handkerchief into a neat square, placed it back in his pocket, and stared at his own reflection in the rearview mirror. His cloudy left eye caught the sunlight, dead and unblinking.