# Chapter 21 Opening Hook Audit

- `CRITERION 1: PULLS — first 50 words quoted — "The box was inside the freight door when Theo unlocked Marchetti Rooms at eight on Friday morning, square on the mat where deliveries went, sealed with a strip of silver tape that said MARCHETTI: 8 in Ruth's block marker. He had the utility knife out of his pocket before he had his coat off." — reasoning: starts with a changed object-state and a question the rupture chapter has armed: the eight catalogs have returned by a non-Theo route, and Theo's hands move before his feelings can.`

- `CRITERION 2: CLEAN — strongest atmospheric candidate quoted and why it survives — "inside the freight door" and "square on the mat where deliveries went" are setting nouns, but they are tied to Theo's job and to the returned-catalog pressure; this is character-bound object orientation, not a camera pan over architecture/weather.`

- `CRITERION 3 (chapter-1/part-openings only): n/a — Chapter 21 is not a part-opening chapter.`

Chapter verdict: `HOOKED`.

`REVISION ORDERS`: none.
