I flip the green chip, studying the writing engraved into the curved edge. After spending three months in AA, I feel stronger than ever. Everything seems to be going right for me. Once I show Leo the chip, I’m all set to move on with my life and leave the will in the past.
“Still committed to staying sober?” My father stands up beside me. The last few stragglers find their way out of the meeting room, leaving me alone with him.
“Why do you care?”
“I don’t.”
I release a soft laugh as I stand. My head clears his by a couple of inches. “You know what I find interesting?”
His dark gaze peers into me. “What?”
“I spent the better part of my life always making excuses for you. I thought that if you got sober, you would be better. Kinder. But it turns out, you’re just the same miserable person with or without alcohol. And you know why?”
His eyes narrow. “I’m sure you’ll tell me whether I care or not.”
“You hate yourself, and no amount of alcohol is going to change that. You’re a pathetic person with equally pathetic wishes who will never find happiness, whether you search for it at the bottom of a bottle or with an inheritance you don’t deserve.” With one final look at my father, I walk away, leaving him burning a hole into my back.
It wasn’t until I confronted my self-hatred that I realized my father and I shared the same issue. That he and I were two sides of the same coin, turning our hatred of ourselves into a weapon—him against the world and me against myself.
But unlike him, I’m here because I refuse to give up on myself.
Not today. Not tomorrow. Not ever again.
Since I’m already in Chicago for the AA meeting, I decide to stay the night and attend the board meeting the following day. As much as I want to head back to Lake Wisteria, there are a few things I need to do before I can.
Declan sits at the head of the table, occupying my father’s usual spot.
“Where’s Seth?” the Head of Product Development asks.
“I will be standing in as CEO for the time being.” Declan doesn’t look up from his phone.
“And how long is that?” someone else asks.
“Indefinitely.” Declan doesn’t blink.
Rowan shoots me a puzzled look. I press my lips together to stop myself from smiling. Declan wanted to surprise Rowan about the pregnancy after today’s meeting while Iris has brunch with Zahra now to share the news.
The meeting is short. Business is good and everything is running as it should, minus Seth no longer sitting at the head of the table.
When Arnold, the Head of Acquisitions and Sales for the DreamStream Division, stands and gives his monthly report, I keep my mouth clamped shut. Rowan nudges me once, but I ignore him. I’ve spent the last three months speaking with Arnold privately, not that my brother is aware.
Turns out the solution wasn’t trying to fit myself into a company role but rather developing a role that fits me, my needs, and my interests. While I want to help the streaming company be the best version of itself, I don’t want to be in charge of the whole damn thing. Leadership isn’t my style. Becoming a consultant or something less obligatory is more my speed, all while giving me the ability to actually speak on behalf of the company and acquire new projects.
Once the meeting is adjourned, I pull Arnold aside to schedule our next meeting with his team. I don’t have an assistant or anything fancy, so I coordinate everything myself.
My brothers stick around, whispering behind my back. It’s not until the room clears out that I finally face them.
I turn around and cross my arms. “Are you two done talking about me?”
“What was that?” Declan motions toward the spot Arnold just occupied.
“Don’t worry about it.”
His eyes light up. “Keeping secrets from your new CEO already?”
Rowan’s jaw drops open. “Is it official?”
Declan spares him a glance. “Not until the lawyer draws up the final paperwork.”
I grin. “Congratulations, Daddy.”
Rowan chokes on his inhale.
Declan’s eyes narrow. “Call me that again and I won’t hesitate to rip your tongue out and mount it behind my new desk like artwork.”
Rowan’s eyes bounce between us two. “Does anyone want to fill me in on what’s happening?”
Declan pulls out his wallet and hands Rowan a photo of the sonogram. “Here.”
“Holy shit. You’re going to be a dad.” Rowan traces the circle. “It looks like a jellybean.”
“Say hello to your nephew.” Declan preens like a peacock showing off its feathers. It’s the most un-Declan-like behavior I have seen, which only makes me laugh.
“Could be a girl,” I tease.
Declan taps his chest. “I have a good intuition, and my gut tells me it’s a boy.”
Rowan’s eyes roll. “And if it is a girl?”
“I already have a heart doctor on speed dial and every police captain in Chicago under my payroll to arrest anyone who steps within six feet of her.”
“You can’t arrest every guy or girl they’re interested in,” I say.
He swipes the photo out of Rowan’s hands while glaring at me. “Watch me.”
My car is packed and I’m ready to head back to Lake Wisteria when I receive a call from Leo asking me to come to his office for an emergency meeting. Before taking off in the direction of Leo’s office across town, I text Lana to let her know that something came up and I’m not sure if I will make it home tonight.
I spend the entire drive fidgeting from anxiety. When I enter his office, my nervousness is only amplified as I find my brothers staring my father down from opposite sides of the sitting area.
Leo sits behind his desk with a neutral expression. “Callahan. Please take a seat.”
He motions to the only empty spot available beside my father. I sit down, practically hugging the edge of the leather couch to avoid him.
“I’m glad you all were available tonight to meet with me.” Leo opens a file.
Like we had any other option.
“What is all this about?” My father’s voice hints at his building temper.
“I was asked to read one last letter from Brady.”
“Another letter?” Rowan sits up.
Leo tips his head in confirmation. “This one was addressed to the four of you.”
Declan remains quiet, his gaze glued to Leo pulling out the letter from an envelope.
“To my family,” Leo begins. “A man’s legacy shouldn’t be determined by how much money he made or how successful he was, but rather by the memory he left behind and the way he made people feel.” Leo pauses to look up from the letter.
“What?” Declan grunts.
“Sorry. Your grandfather noted that I should pause for dramatic effect.”
I explode with laughter. Rowan and Declan follow, the three of us filling the whole room with the sounds of our amusement. My father remains rigid beside me, completely emotionless.
Leo continues, his lips tugging upward. “My way of going about you four earning your inheritance was unusual. Leo warned me as much when I called him at two a.m. after a crazy dream, letting him know I needed to revise the will.” He pauses again to look up. “I did. Just for the record.”
“Cut the useless chitchat and read the damn letter,” our father barks.
Leo doesn’t balk or snap, although a small tic in his jaw appears. He refuses to give my father any attention as he returns to his reading. “Each of you were given a task that I chose based on your strengths and weaknesses. Given that Leo is reading this letter rather than the other one I wrote, I assume the four of you met the requirements asked of you to receive your inheritances.”
Leo pulls out a second sheet of paper from the envelope. “To my son, Seth. I gave you two choices regarding your inheritance. While I had hoped you would rise to the challenge and pick the more difficult path, you went with the easier option of the two.”
What two choices? Were they like mine and based on contingencies, or was he given two clear paths from the beginning and it was up to him to choose?
My father’s foot shakes, his only nervous tell.
“I understand why you chose to get sober in order to receive your shares of the company. I really do get it. Just like I understand that I cannot with good conscious hand them over, knowing you made that choice to benefit yourself.”
What. The. Actual. Fuck? Are parts of our inheritance revokable now?
The blood drains from Declan’s face. We lock eyes for a moment before returning our attention back to Leo, who continues reading off the page.
“If you truly have changed, then your sons will make the appropriate choice that reflects that transformation. If you have not made amends for the mistakes you’ve made and the hurt you’ve caused, then you never truly learned anything despite my letters and pleas, and therefore are unworthy of receiving your inheritance.”
“Motherfucker,” my father whispers under his breath. “Well played, Pop.”
Leo ignores his comment. “To my three grandsons. In addition to you receiving your percentages of the company and your inheritance, I grant you one last thing that I denied you before. A choice. You can choose to deny your father his six percent of the company shares and have them redistributed amongst the investors, or you can choose to give him the shares.”
Holy shit.
Holy. Fucking. Shit.
My gaze snaps to Rowan and Declan. Both of them sit with their elbows on their knees and their chins cradled over their clasped hands.
“Regardless of what you three decide, I hope you learn from your father’s example. What can be given can easily be taken away. Fortunes. Lovers. Family. Don’t make the same selfish mistakes we made because I can guarantee it leads to nothing but an empty life and an equally empty heart.”
“And to my son, I hope you change out of the goodness of your heart before it is too late for you.”
Leo folds the letter and returns it to the envelope.
“Can I have the other letter he wrote?” my father asks, shocking us all with his question.
Leo raises a brow. “It doesn’t have any legal standing.”
“I know that.”
Leo pulls out a third folded sheet of paper and hands it over to my father. He doesn’t read it in our presence, instead choosing to tuck it inside of his suit with a shaky hand.
Leo clasps his hands together. “Each of you will vote yes or no regarding your father’s inheritance. We will start with the eldest grandson.”
Declan rises and buttons his suit. Instead of sharing his feelings aloud, my brother leans over to whisper something into my father’s ear. The color drains from my father’s face. I’m not sure what Declan says, but my father looks as if he saw a ghost.
Declan returns to his full height. “I vote no.” He walks out of the room, leaving us behind to make our own decisions.
My father turns a fraction of an inch in my direction.
I’m not ready to say my truth yet, so I stumble over my words. “Can Rowan go next?”
Leo glances over at my brother.
Rowan shrugs before rising to his feet. “I’m honestly disappointed you didn’t choose the more difficult path. After abusing us for years and using our weaknesses against us, turns out you’re the weakest one of us all.” Rowan shakes his head at Leo. “I vote no.” He exits the room and shuts the door behind him.
My father rises from his seat and leans over to pick up his suitcase.
I’m not shocked by his dismissal of me. I spent the last thirty-four years of my life being subjected to the same treatment, although I’m better equipped to handle it now. “What about my vote?”
He stands tall. “It doesn’t matter.”
My blood heats beneath my skin, fueling the rage building inside me. I step into his space and stare him in the eyes. “Despite your attempts to treat me like I don’t exist, I matter just as much as the other two.”
“It’s nothing personal.”
“Maybe that’s your issue. If you actually acted like a human being, maybe things could have been different.”
His jaw clenches. “Vote or get out of my way.”
“I will once you tell me what the first option was.”
His right eye twitches. “Why?”
“Because I want to know, and you owe me that much.”
He looks away, his jaw working as he considers my request. His resigned sigh fills the silence, barely heard over the strong beat of my racing heart.
“He asked me to seek forgiveness from each of you and put my shares up to a family vote like today.” My father takes a step toward the door, but I reach out to stop him.
“Why didn’t you choose that option?”
“I didn’t want to risk the shares for something I knew was impossible after everything I had done.”
“Trying and failing is better than not trying at all.” I’d rather fail time and time again than limit my options and fail anyway.
It took me a long time to think that way, but I’m done choosing the easy route. Just look at my father and what that got him.
Nothing but misery.
He will have to spend the rest of his life wondering what would have happened had he sought to get help and earn our forgiveness. While we live the rest of our lives happy with our families, he will sulk in his misery and failure, knowing deep down there was a small chance we could have learned to forgive him had he put in the work.
But I guess none of us will ever know.
I look over at Leo. “I vote yes.”
Leo’s brows jump, and my father’s eyes widen. I know my vote is a toss away, but I would rather fuck with my father one last time, making him wonder what he could have done to earn that one other yes.
Kill them with kindness, Mom always said.
I hope my father drops dead because of it.
