Page 32 of The Prime-Time Experiment

Declan didn’t answer. His attention had already shifted. Ebony had moved further into the room, her gaze tracking slowly across the space, taking it in piece by piece. She didn’t rush to fill the silence, didn’t look for direction. She was great at observing.

“Hey, Ebony,” he said, his tone softening without thought.

She looked up at him after a moment. “Hi, Uncle Declan.”

“How was school?” Her gaze dipped briefly, then shifted sideways. No answer came.

Tyler exhaled under his breath. “She’s had a big day. School was… a lot.”

Declan nodded once. That was enough. He didn’t push it. Instead, he leaned forward slightly, resting his forearms on his knees.

“I met someone the other day,” he said. That got her attention, Ebony looked at him properly now.

“What’s her name?” she asked.

“Riley,” he said. “Dr Riley Lorrent.”

Ebony repeated it once under her breath, like she was testing how it fit. Then she looked back at him.

“I think you’d like her,” he added.

A small tilt of her head. “Why?”

Declan considered it for a second, then answered plainly.

“She thinks differently,” he said. “She notices everything, needs it to make sense before she can do anything with it.”

Ebony was quiet for a beat, processing. “That sounds like me,” she said simply.

Declan’s mouth shifted slightly. “Yeah,” he said. “I thought so, too.”

A small pause settled between them, and then he pushed himself upright.

“Actually,” he said, like the thought had just clicked into place, “if you’re up for it… I could use your help.”

Ebony’s attention sharpened. “With what?”

“I want to rearrange my home gym,” he said. “Make it easier to follow. Less all over the place. I think Riley would really like that.”

She considered that immediately, her gaze flicking toward the hallway like she was already picturing it.

“Okay,” she said.

Tyler watched the exchange from the side, something in his expression easing slightly.

“Don’t let him make you do push-ups when you’re down there, Ebony,” he called. “He’s known for that.”

Declan glanced back, a faint smile pulling at his mouth.

“She’ll be fine. Better than you, actually.”

The home gym sat lower in the house, separated from the rest of the space in a way that made it quieter, more separated. It was smaller than the commercial gym they’d filmed in earlier, though far more intentional in its layout. Everything had a place, with clear sections with defined purposes. Declan watched Ebony step inside. She paused just past the threshold, her gaze moving slowly across the room, taking in the layout. Noticing everything, always noticing.

He leaned back slightly against the wall, giving her space to process without interruption.

“What do you think?” he asked after a moment.

Ebony didn’t answer immediately. She moved instead, walking toward the weights, then stopping halfway, her attention catching on the resistance bands hanging along one side.