Visitors, meanwhile, saw only charm. They gasped as the cubs chased Bella’s tail in circles, laughed when she barked at them in mock reprimand, and cooed at the sight of lions cuddling against a dog’s chest. The director beamed at the ticket sales and gave interviews about “a rare and beautiful connection.”
Behind closed doors, though, he demanded contingency plans: reinforced barriers, tranquilizer guns, protocols none of them wanted to imagine using. Ethan carried the weight of both worlds—the miracle everyone adored and the disaster everyone feared. At night, in his apartment, he sat with Bella at his feet, staring at the ceiling.