I stood in a perfect costume in a fabrication lab at Coastline Hero Academy while the echo of my father's voice settled. The call had lasted ninety seconds. He had confirmed the suit, noted the media coverage, reminded me of the inheritance timeline, mentioned Vanguard, and hung up. Four objectives, clean execution, zero wasted words.
I genuinely could not tell if I respected him or wanted to throw my phone through the window.
Both, probably. That tracked.
I turned from the mirror.
The door to the fabrication lab opened.
