NICOLE

The week vanished, a blur of anxious days and sleepless nights. Monday morning arrived with the sharp ring of my alarm, feeling more like a starting pistol than a wake-up call.

Before I knew it, I was sliding into the back of the waiting black Lexus LS, the quiet hum of its engine the only sound on the quiet Soma estate streets.

The drive into central Tokyo was a silent movie. I watched the city wake up, my reflection a ghostly outline superimposed on the passing streets of ...