He left them untouched.
His apartment was immaculate in a way that felt less impressive than eerie.
No photographs.
No souvenirs.
No framed degrees.
No visible history.
Forty tailored suits hung inside a backlit closet in shades of gray, navy, and black.
The leather chairs in his office were expensive enough to start arguments and comfortable enough to put a man to sleep, but he only ever sat in one of them long enough to sign papers.
Every surface shone.
Every room echoed.
Only one object in the penthouse looked as if it mattered.
Inside a locked drawer in his office lay a small glass frame lined with black velvet.
In it rested half of a red ribbon, faded almost to rust, its edges worn, its weave loosened by time.
The preservation specialists had told him cloth that old naturally weakened no matter how carefully it was stored.
He had paid them anyway.
He had paid for temperature control, UV-resistant glass, archival treatment, everything money could buy.
But there were limits to what money could save.
He knew that better than most.
He looked at the ribbon every morning.
