"Get her out of here. Now."
Vivian's voice cut through the hallway, sharp enough that two nearby guests turned to look. She wasn't talking to Julian. She was talking about Naomi, one hand already reaching for her son's arm like she could physically steer him back into the story she'd spent eleven years protecting.
Julian shook her off. "She stays."
"There are two hundred people out there with phones," Vivian said. "By morning this will be the only thing anyone in this city is talking about, and you want her standing next to you in the photographs?"
"I want her standing next to me," Julian said, "because she's the only person in this hallway who didn't lie to me tonight."
Naomi's chest went tight and warm at once, an uncomfortable combination she didn't have time to examine. Theo was s
