The sun in Phuket seemed gentler that day.

After weeks of blood, tension, and lying to the people who raised them, Jay and Jack allowed themselves a rare thing: a day without disguises.

No bulletproof vests under neat shirts.

No stashed weapons taped under café tables.

No encrypted texts or burner phones vibrating in their pockets.

Just them.

For a few hours, Jay and Jack weren't the heirs of empires built on blood. They weren't enemies, or spies, or boys drowning in orders too heavy for ...