Chapter 1 It all began on a Tuesday afternoon, the kind of day where even your tea tastes like it’s mocking your life choices. Samir “Sam” Mehta sat slumped at his aunt’s dining table, one slipper off, laptop open, staring at a blank Google Doc that refused to turn into the article his editor had demanded three days ago. Outside, a dog barked rhythmically as if keeping time with his failure. Inside, his aunt was blasting a 90s soap opera on full volume, which made it nearly impossible to think, let alone write. His only refuge was his headphone’s noise-canceling…