Matthew didn't visit again after our meeting at the hospital.
He held a press conference alone a week later.
There were no brand representatives, no Chloe Parker, and no flower-covered stage. Four bottles of the discontinued perfumes sat behind him, stripped of every promotional label.
I watched the livestream from Rachel's studio.
A reporter asked why he had waited until Grace Bennett left to acknowledge her as a co-creator.
Matthew didn't look at the prepared statement in front of him.
"Because I treated her as a studio asset."
The room fell silent.
"I knew every perfume's signature drydown came from the way the formula developed on her skin, but I kept her name buried in our internal records. I gave someone else the credit and made Grace carry all the risk. That wasn't an oversi
