Alex came back six hours later looking worse than when he'd left.
"What happened?" Izzy asked.
"Vivienne showed up at my apartment."
"Is she okay? I thought the doctors said she needed to rest."
"She's fine. Or fine enough to ambush me in my own home." He sat down heavily. "She wanted to make a deal."
"What kind of deal?"
"She'll step away from the foundation permanently. No board seat, no advisory role, nothing. In exchange, I don't give the speech at the gala."
"What did you say?"
"I said no."
"Just like that?"
"Just like that. She tried to negotiate. Offered to increase her donations, to fund new programs, to do whatever I wanted. But the price was silence about what happened to Lila."
"And you refused."
"Yeah. You should have seen her face. I don't think anyone's told her n
