Daniel drove slowly through the quiet streets, his hands gripping the steering wheel tighter than necessary. The old sedan rattled faintly as it turned into the narrow driveway of his new home. He hated calling it “home.” It wasn’t the wide, gleaming mansion he used to live in, with marble floors, chandeliers, and men bowing at his presence. 

This was a modest two-story house tucked in a corner lot—functional, plain, and painfully different. But ever since bankruptcy tore everything from him, this was all he could afford after selling the mansion to cover debts.

He parked, cut off the engine, and sat in silence for a moment. His pride stung...