(Liam Romano’s POV)
The word “together” still hung in the air, fragile as glass, when reality walked into the children’s room. Costa filled the doorway, urgency carved into his face. His eyes flicked once at Hailey and Isabella, then fixed on me.
“Boss,” he said, and the single word set something in me on edge. “We need to talk. Now.”
Hailey didn’t flinch. She kept rocking Isabella, but her gaze never left mine — a quiet test, the first move in this precarious new alliance. I could dismiss her with a curt gesture, reassert the old order, shove her back into the role I’d assigned. Or I could take the step the truth play required.
“Speak,” I said, keeping my eyes on Hailey. “Mrs. Miller is part of this now. Part of the solution.”
Costa’s surprise was a micro-expression, gone before he h
