And sometimes people are drowning and you're the only one close enough to throw them a line. Maybe you both drown, but at least you tried. Mrs. Rodriguez sighed. Just promise me you'll protect Lily first. Lily's always first.
But even as Ethan said it, he wondered how he'd protect Lily from media attention that was already spinning their lives into narrative neither of them controlled. The photograph showed his face clearly. any competent journalist could find his address, his employment records, his daughter's preschool. Privacy was already gone. The only question was whether what they gained would be worth what they lost. The media explosion accelerated through the weekend.
By Saturday morning, Ethan's story had spread beyond Chicago business publications into national news sites that loved narratives about class crossing romance. Headlines got progressively more absurd. Cinderella story in reverse. Billionaire CEO marries maintenance worker. Love knows no tax bracket.
Sterling Capital's secret wedding. From service elevator to boardroom. How one man won Chicago's ice queen. Ethan's phone filled with requests for interviews. Good Morning America wanted them on Monday.
People magazine offered five figures for exclusive wedding photos that didn't exist. TMZ camped outside his apartment building until security threatened to call police. Victoria called Saturday afternoon. "Pack a bag. You and Lily are moving into my place until this dies down."
We're not moving anywhere. This is temporary crisis management. We maintain separate lives and just appear together when necessary. That was the plan before TMZ started harassing your neighbors before someone leaked Lily's preschool location to gossip sites. Victoria's voice hardened.
Ethan, there are photographers outside Lily's school. They're taking pictures of four-year-olds hoping to identify which one is your daughter. Ethan's protective instincts activated immediately. How did they find her school? Public records.
Enrollment information that's technically protected but accessible to anyone with moderate research skills. Victoria paused. My building has security, controlled access, underground parking. Lily will be safer here than at your apartment where any reporter can bribe the front desk. You're asking me to move my daughter into a stranger's home after knowing you for 48 hours.
I'm asking you to let me protect the child of the man I supposedly married. Because if reporters get photographs of Lily crying because strangers are following her, the sympathy narrative falls apart and you become the father who exposed his daughter to media circus. Ethan wanted to argue, but Victoria's logic was unassailable. He'd already pulled Lily from preschool Friday after the first photographer showed up. Mrs. Rodriguez was fielding calls from neighbors.
Every time he looked out his window, people with cameras were waiting. One week. We try it for one week. If Lily's uncomfortable, we figure out something else. Agreed.