Chapter 21

• The car slowed to a gentle stop in front of the boutique just after noon.
• The sky above was overcast, a muted silver light resting softly over the city. No sun broke through, only the suggestion of light filtering through layered clouds. It made the storefront glass gleam without glare, every surface polished and still. Inside the display windows, Capsule Seven stood exactly as intended. Structured, refined, composed. The palette was quiet but assured. It did not beg for attention. It held it.
• I remained seated, hands resting lightly in my lap. There was no speech prepared. No press conference waiting. Just a single appearance. A presence. My name had returned to the guest list the night before, placed without ceremony. One line. No title. No context. It was enough.