The morning began with silence that felt heavier than usual. I made coffee slowly, waiting for the world to stir, waiting for something unnamed to arrive. Julian was still asleep, his breathing steady in the bedroom, while I stood in the kitchen with the radio low in the background.

It was the voice of the newscaster that pulled me from the drifting haze. I heard Alessia’s name spoken with clipped seriousness, followed by the words bankruptcy and liquidation. My hand tightened around the mug, ...