A Cold Welcome

The heavy, tinted windows of the luxury sedan shielded us from the outside world as the powerful vehicle smoothed its way out of the city's chaotic core. I sat rigidly against the plush leather seats, my hands folded tightly in my lap, watching the towering skyscrapers and vibrant neon lights bleed away into a quieter, darker landscape. We were pulling up to a quiet, upper-middle-class row house n