“Jonathan, we will need you to step in as interim chairman,” he said.

Jonathan shook his head slowly.

“No,” Jonathan said. “I am resigning from the company, effective tonight.”

He looked at me, a quiet sense of relief softening his eyes.

“I am done with this empire,” he added.

Two hours later, we were back in Brooklyn, the rain finally stopping as the sky began to clear.

Jonathan walked with me toward my studio, his hands deep in his coat pockets.

“It feels strange,” he said, looking up at the brick buildings. “I have no office to go to tomorrow.”

“What will you do?” I asked, stopping near my front door.

“I want to find an apartment nearby,” he said. “I want to be close to Liam and Chloe.”

“They have missed you, Jonathan,” I said quietly. “But it will take time for them to understand.”

“I know,” he said. “I want to earn their trust back. And yours.”

I looked at him, seeing the exhaustion but also a genuine sincerity in his face.

We walked up the steps to my studio door, the streetlamp casting long shadows behind us.