Lila nodded, considering. “We’ll take it one step at a time,” she said. “They deserve that.”

As the sun dipped below the horizon, painting the sky with hues of orange and pink, Alexander felt the first stirrings of hope for a different kind of future. One that, perhaps, could merge the dreams of his past with the reality of his present—a mosaic of success built not just on ambition, but on reconnection and redemption.