It was not the answer Chloe expected. For months, Leo had spoken as if the child belonged solely to him. Now he stood before her offering the one thing that cost him more than money or power.

Choice. She closed her fingers around the keys. “I’m not leaving today.”

Leo nodded once. It was the closest either of them came to saying what they felt.

Chapter 6 — Central Park

By her eighth month, Chloe was desperate to see something beyond stone walls and armed guards. “I am going to Central Park,” she announced one Tuesday morning.

Vincent did not look up from his tablet. “No.”

“If I don’t see a normal human being today, I’m going to set Leo’s favorite chair on fire.”