Early next morning.
Harbor City, the Meyer Family.
The first thing Bella Meyer did when the alarm woke her was to check on her brother in the next room.
His room was very small, with just a bed, a small wardrobe, and a desk and chair by the window.
The layout was very compact, and Bella had to turn sideways to squeeze through the gap between the wardrobe and the bed to reach the desk by the window.
Isaac Meyer either hadn't slept all night, got up too early, or continued the behavior Bella had seen before she went to bed the night before.
He sat at the desk working on a puzzle, so absorbed in his own world that he didn't even hear her enter the room.
The curtains in the room were drawn, with only a standing lamp by the desk providing dim light.
