I gave a small nod. A bodyguard stepped forward and peeled the tape away.
The instant it came off, Rosie burst into tears.
"Daddy..."
She stumbled toward Ethan on unsteady legs, her small body crashing into his arms.
"Bad people took me and Mommy! Daddy, get the bad people! Get them!"
Lily didn't move.
She stared at the maternity ward photo still on the projection screen, at the tsunami of comments flooding the livestream, and trembled like a leaf caught in the wind.
Ethan clutched Rosie to his chest, holding on tight, as though she were the last thing in this world that still belonged to him.
But he knew. It was over.
When he looked up at the camera again, his face was the color of ash.
Every mask. Every scheme. Every lie.
All of it, exposed under the midday sun, witnessed and
