I frowned.
“What happened?”
“She told me last night that if this deal collapses, it’s because I failed.”
I almost laughed.
“You’re just discovering this?”
“I know how it sounds.”
“It sounds like you are finally seeing what I saw years ago.”
Daniel lowered his head.
“I deserve that.”
I stood and walked to the window.
For years, I had wanted my son to see me.
Not my truck.
Not my house.
Not my money.
Me.
And now, standing behind me, was a man who had finally realized that the people he had been trying to impress never truly respected him.
I turned.
“Daniel.”
“Yes?”
“I can forgive you.”
His eyes lifted.
“But forgiveness doesn’t mean trust comes back overnight.”
“I understand.”
“And it doesn’t mean I’m going to save you from the consequences of your choices.”
He nodded.
“I understand.”
“Good.”
I walked toward the door.
He stood.
“Dad?”
“Yes?”
“Are you going to destroy Richard?”
I looked at him for several seconds.
“No.”
His expression changed.
“Then what are you going to do?”
I opened the door.
“I’m going to let the truth speak for itself.”
He left.
I closed the door.
My phone rang almost immediately.
Harold.
“Lucas, we have a problem.”
“What now?”
“Richard knows about the audit.”
I stared through the glass at Daniel walking toward his car.
“How?”
“I don’t know.”
“What did he do?”
Harold hesitated.
“He called the bank.”
“Which bank?”
“Your bank.”
My expression hardened.
“What did he ask?”
“He tried to find out whether you’ve moved your assets.”
I laughed once.
“He’s panicking.”
“Yes.”
Then Harold said something that made me stop laughing.
“Lucas, there’s one more thing.”
“What?”
“He didn’t just ask about your assets.”
“What else?”
“He asked about Ruth’s estate.”
My hand tightened around the doorknob.
“Why?”
“Because he believes there’s something in her estate that could change everything.”
I looked at the photograph of Ruth hanging on the wall.
Something she had left behind.
Something Richard knew about.
Something I had completely forgotten.
I turned off the porch light.
And for the first time in three years, I walked back into Ruth’s study and opened the locked drawer beneath her old desk.
Inside was a small envelope.
My name was written on it in Ruth’s handwriting.
Lucas — open this only when you finally understand who is standing beside you.
I stared at the words.
Then I noticed something else.
The envelope had been sealed.
And beneath Ruth’s signature was a second name.
A name I hadn’t seen in decades.
Richard’s father.
I slowly sat down.
Whatever Ruth had known…
She had known it long before Thanksgiving.
And somehow, she had known that one day I would need to find out.
I opened the envelope.
And began to read.
