Chapter 1

A sharp, heart-wrenching crash echoed through the empty, silent exhibit hall.

That priceless national treasure, the culmination of countless hours of dedication, was shattered into pieces right before my eyes. The serene musician figurine was reduced to a pile of cold shards, its centuries-old melody silenced forever.

My heartbeat nearly stopped. The world fell into dead silence.

I stared blankly at the fragments, feeling as if all the blood had drained from my body. My limbs went cold instantly.

My ex-girlfriend, Cynthia Wyatt, strolled over with a frown, looking down at me with superior disdain and cold mockery in her eyes. "Come on! It's just a dumb clay doll. No need to look like you're about to keel over."

Diego burst out laughing, doubling over, and he stepped on a larger shard, grinding it under his foot. "Cynthia, look at his face, like the sky's falling. He's really selling it. It's just a clay doll, for crying out loud."

The artifact endured secondary damage, and I gasped in horror. Without thinking, I shoved him aside to inspect the shards on the floor, desperately trying to salvage what I could.

This was a one-of-a-kind piece that our team had spent six months repatriating from overseas. It was an irreplaceable gem of our nation's history and culture.

"How dare you shove him over some junk?" Cynthia snapped, stepping forward to block me, her force making me stumble back.

She demanded sharply, "Apologize to Diego right now!"

I rolled my eyes, sidestepped her, and pulled out my phone with shaking hands from my pocket. Under their amused stares, I dialed a number I hated to bother at a time like this.

When the line went through, my voice came out oddly calm—calm enough to surprise even me. "Mr. Henson? This is Henry at the Smithsonian's 'American Heritage Treasures' special exhibit setup in Zoriorford. A Class-One artifact, the Victorian-era porcelain musician figurine, has been deliberately destroyed."