(Mira's POV)
The interview was supposed to end with Ethan.
It almost did.
Lily thanks him. The crew relaxes. A producer gestures subtly toward the side camera. The tension that has been stretched thin for an hour begins to loosen.
Ethan's last words still hang in the studio air.
Maybe you've never seen the long version.
It should have ended there. It would have been clean, controlled, and powerful. But something in me refuses to let that be the final note. Because if this story is going to exist publicly, it will not exist half-told.
Lily turns slightly toward the main camera. "That concludes our conversation—"
"Can I add something?"
The words leave my mouth before I fully measure them. The room stills. The kind of stillness that isn't awkward—it's alert.
Lily looks at me, surprised but composed. "Of course."
Ethan shifts beside me. Not to stop me. Not to question me. Just closer. Protective. I straighten slightly in my seat. My hands are steady. That surprises me.
