While Evelyn welcomed their family in the living room, Axel stood alone in his study, the calm glow of late afternoon spilling across the floorboards.
He should have been in the living room greeting Evelyn's family, but instead, he stood by the tall glass window, his reflection looking back at him, face composed but eyes sharp.
He had intended to ignore Ethan's earlier message.
It was his birthday. He wanted one quiet evening centered only on his wife and son.
But Ethan never reached out unless something had truly gone wrong, and Axel knew better than to dismiss him.
After taking another deep sigh, he pulled the special phone from his desk drawer, the one with a single contact, and dialed without hesitation.
Ethan answered immediately. "Axel, I'm sorry to text you..."
"Why did you text me?"
There was a brief rustle on the other end of the line, as if Ethan was carefully choosing his following words.
