ETHAN'S POV.
Whether I believed Mr. Arashigumi was another matter entirely.
The silence lingered after his words, unbroken until Susan gently set her untouched teacup back on its saucer.
"Thank you for receiving us, Mr. Arashigumi," she said politely. "We appreciate your time."
He acknowledged her with a slight incline of his head before unfolding the newspaper beside him. The gesture was so effortless it almost felt dismissive, as though our visit had been little more than a brief interruption to his morning.
The meeting was over.
Just like that.
Susan lightly touched my arm.
"Ethan."
Her voice was quiet, but there was no mistaking what she meant.
"We should leave."
I looked at Mr. Arashigumi one last time.
He was already reading again.
The man who had held all of our attention for the past hour had returned to his newspaper without the slightest sign that anything of consequence had happened. Somehow, that unsettled me more than any threat could have.
