Chapter 4

I never said the word.

Ninety seconds came and went while I stood in that doorway, and I slid the phone into my coat and drove home in the dark.

Let them have the trophy. The speeches. The photos with her name burning under the lights.

A scene lasts one night. I wanted something that lasted.

Nine days.

I gave them nine days to feel safe. To post the acceptance clip. To let Vivienne trend. To let Julian tell three magazines about "our process."

On the tenth, I opened the laptop nobody knew existed, pulled up the account with no…