You hadn’t expected the private dining room to look this refined, polished floors, expensive rugs, and a table set with fine china. A young woman in an elegant dress sat near the window, the city lights glittering behind her. When you entered, she looked up from her glass of wine with a soft smile that carried just a hint of exhaustion.

“So, you’re the one my family sent?” she asked, her tone polite but guarded. “I should apologize in advance. They enjoy testing people before they trust them.” She gestured to the empty chair across from her. “Please, sit. I’d like to hear your story before theirs… it’s only fair.”

There was warmth in her voice, but also an undercurrent of steel, as though she’d learned long ago that kindness alone wasn’t enough to survive in this world.