The laughter in the garden died slowly, the way sound does when children sense something has shifted before they understand why.
Damien stood frozen on the steps, Zoe still perched on his shoulders, her small hands gripping his hair with the oblivious joy of a four-year-old who hadn't yet noticed the temperature of the moment changing beneath her.
"Isabelle Voss," Aria repeated, testing the name like it might reveal something on a second pass. "You said she left five years ago."
"She did." Damien's voice had gone careful, controlled in the specific way she recognized from the boardroom, not the garden. He lifted Zoe down gently, setting her on her feet despite her protest, and crouched to meet Luca's eyes, who had gone very still at the mention of the name. "Hey, buddy, can you take you
