“I kept this family together.”
“No.”
Daniel’s expression hardened.
“You kept everyone dependent on you.”
Charles finally lost his composure.
“You think life is simple? Thomas was brilliant but reckless. Michael Bennett was idealistic. Neither understood what it takes to build something lasting.”
“You mean take what wasn’t yours?”
Charles’s face reddened.
“I saved that company.”
“With Claire’s money.”
“I intended to repay it.”
“You had twenty years.”
“It became complicated.”
Daniel almost smiled.
That phrase.
The Whitmore family’s favorite hiding place.
Complicated.
“Lucas is coming tomorrow.”
Charles stared.
“What?”
“I called him.”
“You did what?”
“I called my son.”
“You don’t know him.”
“No.”
Daniel’s voice cracked.
“And that’s your fault.”
The next afternoon, Lucas arrived.
Daniel waited at a small café rather than the Whitmore house.
He told me later that he recognized Lucas before the young man reached the door.
