FRED AND MANU

“NEGATIVE.”

The word echoed through the entire studio. The audience exploded—some people laughed, others booed, and a few simply looked at me with pity. I could not react. And even if I had wanted to, my voice would certainly have refused to come out. That NEGATIVE kept resounding inside my chest, repeated a thousand times, like a hammer.

My eyes turned instinctively toward the side of the stage. He was there. I knew he was. If the result had been different, he would have ...