No Apology, No Second Chance

Six years ago Sam Delacroix put his name on Nora Whitlock's bridge, and his career came first, and she learned to build without him. Now the commission wants them both at the dedication. Nora does not want to go. Her business partner makes it a partnership issue. Sam brings a folder. Emails. Meeting notes. Original drawing timestamps. Six years of proof she made the thing he took credit for — proof he has been assembling since the week it happened, because he is a coward with good filing habits. Nora reads it. It is worse than she expected. Sam does not ask for her back. He files the credit correction, signs the fee transfer, and takes a post in Lisbon. He leaves the city so she can stay. Nora has spent six years waiting for an apology. She has never once been asked for anything less.