Chapter 5

Then my voice filled the ballroom.

Tired. Hoarse. Three days postpartum.

"Julian, use the line about home remembering love. That one is for Milo."

No one moved.

On the giant screen, Milo slept against my chest in a hospital bed. Younger Julian leaned toward the camera, his face softer than I remembered it.

"Elena built this with me," he said. "If this company ever tells its story, her name goes first."

The room went silent.

Julian looked at the screen as if it had betrayed him.

Sienna stopped smiling.

I walked to the podium before either of them could recover.