She only gave a slow, knowing nod — an acknowledgment of the length and the agony of the road I had just chosen to walk.

I left the apartment, and as I stepped into the glaring sun my phone began to buzz.

My chief operating officer, his voice a panic.

“Roderick, it’s a bloodbath.

Delphine’s family just announced a massive divestment.

The media’s running the double-life story.

The stock is in freefall.

We need you in Manhattan now to save the board.” I looked up at the sixth-floor balcony, at the little potted plants thriving in the sun.