Mira’s mind raced. She’d heard the horror stories about third-party suppliers—counterfeit blades that melted like butter, threads machined wrong, documentation that looked authentic until a metallurgist sneezed at it. But something about Len’s bluntness, his refusal to upsell or hedge, felt different.

Mira hit enter.

A single ring. Then a gravelly voice: “This is Len. What broke?”