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Chapters (61)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. 1
  4. 2
  5. 3
  6. 4
  7. 5
  8. 6
  9. 7
  10. 8
  11. 9
  12. 10
  13. 11
  14. 12
  15. 13
  16. 14
  17. 15
  18. 16
  19. 17
  20. 18
  21. 19
  22. 20
  23. 21
  24. 22
  25. 23
  26. 24
  27. 25
  28. 26
  29. 27
  30. 28
  31. 29
  32. 30
  33. 31
  34. 32
  35. 33
  36. 34
  37. 35
  38. 36
  39. 37
  40. 38
  41. 39
  42. 40
  43. 41
  44. 42
  45. 43
  46. 44
  47. 45
  48. 46
  49. 47
  50. 48
  51. 49
  52. 50
  53. 51
  54. 52
  55. 53
  56. Epilogue
  57. Epilogue
  58. Acknowledgments
  59. About the Author
  60. Also by Catherine Coulter
  61. About the Publisher

He stood at the front of the stage, a dozen microphones in front of him, a sea of media faces staring up at him. He stood a moment, a middle-class winter coat flapping around his legs, a sharp wind blowing his hair, stoic and silent, as dozens of photos were snapped. If Mia didn’t know exactly who and what he really was, she’d have thought he looked heroic.

When at last he spoke, his deep voice resonated to the far reaches of the plaza. “I thank you all for coming. It is with profound regret I stand here in front of this impressive building to announce I’m stepping out of the mayoral race of this great city.”

He turned and nodded to the line of people behind him. “I want to thank you, my tireless campaign staff, and tell you how sorry I am to let you down so unexpectedly. Thank you for all your hours of work, for the resources you provided, and for believing in us. What you did was humbling and inspiring. I feel lucky that for a while I was a part of it. I will be forever grateful.

“I especially want to thank you, Cory Hughes, and you, Miles Lombardy, for your dedication and hard work. With people like all of you leading our dedicated campaign, we might well have won this race.

“I also want to thank Pamela, my fiancée, for her unwavering belief in me, and, of course, my family, my parents, especially, for helping us make this campaign possible.

“I so wish I could continue this effort to address so many pressing issues, from health care to quality education for those of us less fortunate.” He paused a moment, studied the faces looking up at him. “I’ve always believed each of us has infinite value, no one individual more than any other. I believe New York should be the vibrant proud soul of our uniquely American spirit.

“I am proud of this city, and I see what it’s capable of becoming. I firmly believe our way forward is to work toward crossing the chasms that divide us, racial and political. We share so much more in what we value than we sometimes realize.

“It is with a heavy heart I must now give up my hope to pursue that vision as your mayor, at least today, in this election. All of us have obligations, our families being our touchstones. Both personal and family matters have arisen unexpectedly, and now require my full attention.”

He paused, looked over the sea of faces. “Thank you very much.”