Tokyo mornings had a way of starting quietly as if the world needed a few extra seconds to decide what kind of day it wanted to be. But for Violet, the quiet never lasted long.

That morning, it was broken by the sound of her phone buzzing beside her bed Bryan’s name lighting up the screen.

Bryan: “Still asleep, Mrs. Hawthorne?”

Violet: “Doctors don’t sleep, remember?”

Bryan: “Then I guess I’ll just have to keep you awake in other ways.”

Violet: “Bryan!”

Bryan: “What? I meant with breakfast. I’m downstairs.”

Her eyes widened. “You’re what?” she whispered to herself, scrambling out of bed.

She rushed to the window and there...