Alyssa was awake, already dressed, standing by the window when her phone vibrated on the table. The city below was gray and restless, like it sensed something coming. She didn’t need to look at the screen to know it wouldn’t be good news.

She answered anyway.

“Ms. Alyssa,” a trembling voice said. “They froze our accounts.”

Alyssa closed her eyes slowly. “Who is ‘they’?”

“The bank. They said there was a compliance issue. Something about irregular capital flow. We can’t pay suppliers. We can’t ship. If this doesn’t clear in forty-eight hours, we’re done.”

Alyssa exhaled through her nose. Calm. Always calm.

“I’ll call you back,” she said, and ended...