Chapter 9: The Stage Is Set**
The Chicago Symphony Center was adorned with cascading white orchids and towering ice sculptures. The city’s top politicians, corporate tycoons, and media networks packed the auditorium for the Montgomery Foundation’s centenary celebration. Julian stood backstage, numb, looking at Leo dressed in a stiff velvet suit. The boy looked hollow, staring blankly ahead.
Victoria straightened Julian’s tie with cold precision. "Smile for the cameras, Julian. After tonight, the boy is on a private jet to Zurich, and this nightmare is behind us." Julian looked down at his son, then at his mother—a woman whose heart had long turned into ledger ink and real estate deeds. He touched the inner pocket of his tuxedo, where the copies of the medical records Marcus Vance had mailed him that morning now rested. For the first time in his life, the Montgomery name felt like a brand of shame.
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