Chapter 12 - A Visitor from the Past
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The quiet of a Tuesday afternoon was interrupted by a sharp, formal knock on the front door.
I was working at the dining room table when Grace walked down the hall to answer it. A moment later, I heard a voice I hadn't heard in years—hesitant, older, and carrying a distinct tremor.
It was Sebastian.
He stood in the doorway, looking smaller than he used to, wearing a plain trench coat instead of his usual tailored corporate armor.
"Daniel," Sebastian said, his eyes darting past me into the house. "I know I shouldn't have come unannounced."
"You shouldn't have," I agreed flatly, remaining seated at the table. "What do you want, Sebastian?"
He stepped inside, closing the door softly behind him. "I'm retiring. The board... they pushed me out last week. The new independent directors restructured everything. I have no office, no shares worth mentioning, and very little family left."
"That sounds like the natural consequence of a lifetime spent treating people like assets," I replied without malice, just absolute fact.
Sebastian swallowed hard, looking down at his hands. "I came to see Noah. I heard he was accepted to Columbia."
"He heard it from us," I said, standing up and walking toward him, closing the distance to protect the space my son occupied. "Sebastian, listen to me very carefully. You spent his entire childhood pretending he was either a corporate leverage point or a biological inconvenience. You don't get to share in his success now just because your own life has fallen apart."
Sebastian looked up, tears pooling in his eyes. "I just wanted to say congratulations."
"Say it to me," I offered coldly. "Then turn around and walk back out that door. If you try to contact Noah directly, I will use every legal resource in this trust to ensure you never come within a mile of him again."
He stared at me for a long, painful moment, realizing that the old Daniel—the one who would have negotiated or compromised for the sake of family peace—was completely gone.
"You really mean it," Sebastian whispered.
May you like
"I've never meant anything more," I said.
He didn't argue. He turned around, opened the door, and walked out into the rain. I closed the heavy wood behind him, locking it securely, leaving the past exactly where it belonged.
