At half past two, the double doors at the back of the auditorium opened again.

Ethan walked into the gym alone.

He was wearing a plain gray cotton sweater, dark trousers, and ordinary brown leather shoes.

There were no luxury gift baskets in his hands, no private security behind him, and no pitch-deck notes tucked under his arm.

He stopped at the edge of the bleachers, looked around the room, and walked straight to Lucas’s display table.

“Hello, Lucas,” Ethan said.