I looked at Hannah in astonishment.

“That’s her,” she said.

I could not speak.

For a moment I forgot every courtroom, every account and every name attached to a criminal file.

There was only a small life moving beneath my hand, and a woman generous enough to let me feel it without promising anything else.

PART 20

The day Hannah went into labor, I was in a meeting with Celeste reviewing the proposed resolution of charges against me.

The agreement remained subject to a court’s approval and would require a substantial sentence, restitution and years of limits on my future business activities.