Chapter 14 - The Return of the BoutonnièreTwo weeks later, the front page of the city’s major newspaper published Evelyn Vance’s signed statement. The apology was formal, unvarnished, and accompanied by a receipt for the donation to the Children’s Hospital.
The Vance family retreated to their country estate, stripped of their board seats and high-society clout.
Julian had moved into a small apartment downtown, taking a junior position at a municipal legal aid clinic—doing the actual law work he had once dreamed of before greed derailed his compass.
In Claire’s sunlit living room, Toby placed the dried white rose from his wedding tuxedo inside a clear glass keepsake box, next to his father’s compass and the blooming African marigold on the windowsill.
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"Why are you saving that flower, Toby?" Claire asked, kneeling beside him.
"Because it reminds me that you came and got me," Toby said, wrapping his thin arms around her neck. "Even when everyone else was watching."
