The doors of the luxury watch boutique opened at exactly nine in the morning.
The store sat on the most expensive shopping avenue in the city, surrounded by designer clothing stores, jewelry boutiques, private banks, and restaurants where a single dinner could cost more than an average worker's weekly salary.
Inside, everything was designed to communicate one message.
Luxury.
The floor was polished white marble.
The walls were covered with enormous photographs of rare watches.
Behind thick glass counters were timepieces worth tens of thousands of dollars.
Some were worth more than a house.
The employees wore perfectly tailored black suits.
The security guards stood near the entrance with discreet earpieces.
Every detail had been carefully chosen.
Nothing looked cheap.
Nothing looked accidental.
And absolutely nobody expected someone like Noah Bennett to walk through those doors.
Noah was twenty-three years old.
He wore an old gray hoodie covered with white paint stains.
His jeans were faded.
His sneakers were worn almost completely flat.
His dark hair was messy.
In one hand, he carried an old black duffel bag.
He looked exhausted.
He looked like someone who had spent the night somewhere other than a comfortable apartment.
And when he pushed open the glass door of the luxury watch store, almost everyone inside looked at him.
The first person to notice was a sales associate named Melissa.
She immediately frowned.
She whispered something to another employee.
The other employee glanced toward Noah.
Then she looked away.
At the far end of the store stood Richard Coleman, the general manager.
Richard was fifty-eight.
He had worked in luxury retail for more than thirty years.
He believed that first impressions were everything.
He could recognize a wealthy customer almost instantly.
He knew the difference between a ten-thousand-dollar suit and a thousand-dollar suit.
He knew the brands of expensive watches.
He knew which customers were worth his time.
And, unfortunately, he had developed another skill.
He believed he could recognize people who didn't belong.
The moment Richard saw Noah, he knew exactly what he thought.
Trouble.
Noah walked slowly toward the glass display cases.
He stared at the watches.
For a moment, his expression changed.
There was genuine wonder in his eyes.
He had never seen anything like them.
A silver watch with a blue face caught his attention.
He stepped closer.
Melissa immediately walked toward him.
"Can I help you?"
Noah turned.
"Yes."
"What are you looking for?"
He looked back at the watch.
"I'm not sure."
Melissa glanced at his clothing.
"Are you looking for something specific?"
Noah nodded.
"A watch."
Melissa almost smiled.
Of course he was looking for a watch.
But not one from here.
She pointed toward another store across the street.