When their first seed investor agreed to back the company, Julian proposed registering the initial ownership through a quiet structure.
“Temporary,” he said. “Investors get weird about family money. If your last name leaks, they’ll think this is some vanity-backed experiment.”
“They won’t think that if the product works.”
“Maybe. Or maybe they’ll think I’m just the guy dating the Vance daughter and the whole thing loses credibility.”
She should have heard it more clearly then. Not only the insecurity, but the resentment nested inside it. But she was in love and tired and still naive enough to imagine honesty would grow in a relationship if given enough safety.
So she agreed. The initial intellectual property filings were placed under a private entity whose beneficial ownership ultimately linked to her. It was meant to protect the work until the structure matured. Then, because they were marrying and because she had started to believe in the dream of building something together, she let more paperwork move through Julian’s hands than she should have.