CHAPTER 2: THE BOY WHO DID NOT LOOK DOWN
The laughter grew louder.
It filled the rooftop restaurant like a rising tide of cruelty.
A barefoot boy stood in the center of it all, unmoving.
Phones were already recording.
Someone zoomed in on his feet.
Another person laughed harder.
“He’s going to bring dirt into the whole place,” a man joked.
But the boy did not look at them.
He looked past them.
Toward the far end of the restaurant.
Where a private glass dining room stood separated from the rest of the world.
Inside it—
a man sat alone.
He wasn’t eating.
He wasn’t speaking.
He was simply holding his glass with a hand that trembled slightly.
His face was pale.
Too pale for someone so rich.
Too still for someone so powerful.
A billionaire.
And he was dying.
The boy took one step forward.
Security immediately moved in.
“Hey! Kid! Get out!”
But before they could touch him—
a voice came from the glass room.
“Let him in.”
The entire restaurant froze.
The billionaire had spoken.
Slowly, the security guards stepped back.
The boy walked forward.
Barefoot on marble.
Ignoring every stare.
Ignoring every laugh.
Ignoring every insult.
When he reached the glass room, the door opened automatically.
Warm light spilled over him.
He stepped inside.
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And for the first time—
the billionaire looked directly at him.
