Weekends became sacred.No work. No meetings. No calls.Just—family time.Parks. Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Prospect Park. Anywhere with trees and space.Elena in the stroller. Looking around. Curious. Engaged.Charlie trotting beside them. Protective. Happy."This is nice," Lyra said. Walking. Sun warm. Breeze cool."Yeah. It is. Just—being. No pressure. No demands. Just—us.""Do you miss the hustle? The constant movement?""Sometimes. Maybe. But this—this is better. Watching Elena see the world. Watching her—her wonder. That's—that's more valuable than any board meeting.""You've changed. So much. From—from when we met. You were—intense. Driven. Obsessed.""I was surviving. Building. Destroying. All of it. But now—now I've won. Completely. And I—I don't need to keep fighting. I can just—be. With you. With Elena. That's—that's victory. Real victory.""I'm proud of you. For gett

"Like what?" "Like Elena's first birthday. It's next week. We need to plan. Cake. Guests. Decorations. All of it." Lyra smiled. "You want to throw a party?" "I want to celebrate our daughter. Who—who's been alive for almost a year. Who's—who's perfect. Who deserves—deserves everything. Including a ridiculous birthday party with too many people and too much cake." "How many people?" "I don't know. Fifty? Sixty? Just—everyone who matters. Family. Ames Digital leadership. Friends. Everyone who's been part of this journey. Part of—of her life." "That's a lot of people." "She deserves it. And honestly? I want to show her off. Want everyone to see—see how amazing she is. How much she's grown. How—how lucky we are." "You're going to be one of those dads. The proud, show-off-my-kid dads." "Absolutely. Unashamedly. Elena's perfect. Everyone should know."

"You complain. But you do it. That's what matters. So—so here's to Neo. And to Elena. And to—to family. The kind we choose. The kind we build. The kind that—that actually matters. Happy birthday, Elena. You're loved. By all of us. Always.""Cheers!"Everyone raised glasses. Toasting. Celebrating.Neo wiped his eyes. "I hate you.""You love me.""Unfortunately."The party continued. More food. More games. More celebration.Kids playing with Elena. Gently. Supervised. Sweet.Parents talking. Sharing stories. Bonding.And Neo—Neo watched. Took it all in. Every moment. Every laugh. Every—Everything.–––––––––––Around 3 PM, people started leaving. Hugging. Thanking. Promising to see them soon.Gifts loaded into cars. Decorations coming down. Cleanup beginning.By 4 PM, almost everyone was gone.Except—Adam and Roxanne. Stil

Neo attempted to cook them. Medium rare. Mostly succeeded."You're becoming domestic," James teased."Shut up. Lyra made me learn. Says I can't just order takeout forever.""She's civilizing you.""Unfortunately."They ate. Talked. Shared stories. Work stories. Life stories. Everything.And Neo felt—Grateful. For this. For these people. For—for chosen family. Brotherhood. Real connection.This was what life was about. Not money. Not revenge. But—This. Sitting around. Eating. Laughing. Being present. With people who mattered.Around 9 PM, Neo stood. Held up his beer."I want to say something."Everyone quieted. Listened."Adam. You're—you're more than my CEO. More than—than employee. You're my brother. My friend. My—my person. Two years ago, when Elena was born, I needed someone to step up. To run the company. To—to let me be dad. And you—you didn't hesitate. Didn't