Chapter 4 - The Chairman Takes Off His Coat
Nobody applauded.
Nobody laughed.
The ballroom simply stopped breathing.
Henry handed his worn coat to Frank.
Beneath it he wore a dark suit.
Rebecca stared at him.
“You’re Henry.”
“Yes.”
“You lied to me.”
“Yes.”
“You let me buy you socks.”
“I’m keeping the socks.”
Under any other circumstances, she might have laughed.
She did not.
Molly clung to her.
Daniel crossed the ballroom.
“Dad, what is this?”
“A mistake.”
“What?”
“Mine.”
Henry looked at Rebecca.
“I came here to test you.”
Her eyes hardened.
“You what?”
“I wanted to know whether you loved my son or his money.”
Rebecca’s face changed from shock to anger.
“So you pretended to be homeless?”
“Yes.”
“You watched us?”
“Yes.”
“You let your family humiliate me while you took notes?”
Henry did not defend himself.
“Yes.”
Rebecca slapped him.
Gasps moved through the ballroom.
Daniel said, “Rebecca!”
Henry raised a hand.
“No. I earned that.”
Rebecca’s voice shook.
“You wealthy people think money gives you the right to turn human beings
into experiments.”
“You’re right.”
“I fed you because you were cold.”
“I know.”
“I gave you my father’s socks.”
“I know.”
“My daughter trusted you.”
Henry looked at Molly.
“That is the part I regret most.”
Rebecca turned away.
Then Henry faced Vanessa.
“Show me your hands.”
“What?”
“The hands you used on Molly.”
Vanessa stepped back.
“Grandpa, she’s lying.”
Henry’s voice lowered.
“I watched you slap her hand yesterday.”
“That was nothing.”
“I watched you shake her.”
“She stole—”
“The bracelet was in your bed.”
Margaret interrupted.
“Henry, this is a family misunderstanding.”
“No.”
“It is Christmas.”
“No.”
“Do not humiliate Vanessa publicly.”
Henry looked at her.
“You humiliated Rebecca publicly every day because you thought I wasn’t
here.”
Margaret’s mouth tightened.
Daniel said, “Dad, let’s go somewhere private.”
Henry turned on him.
“You want privacy because you are ashamed.”
“Of course I’m ashamed.”
“Good.”
Daniel flinched.
Henry pointed toward Molly.
“That child told you an adult hurt her. You asked everyone to calm
down.”
“I didn’t know who was telling the truth.”
“You knew their ages.”
Daniel’s face crumpled.
Rebecca looked at him but said nothing.
Police arrived.
Henry had called them from upstairs.
Vanessa became hysterical.
“You called police on me?”
“I called police for Molly.”
“She’s family!”
“So is Molly.”
Vanessa looked at Daniel.
“Dad!”
Daniel did not move.
For the first time, he looked directly at the red marks on Molly’s
wrist.
His eyes filled.
“What did you do?”
Vanessa cried harder.
“I was angry.”
“What did you do?”
“She wouldn’t stop talking!”
Daniel staggered backward.
Rebecca covered Molly’s ears.
Vanessa was escorted out for questioning.
Margaret followed Henry into the library.
The door slammed.
“You destroyed your granddaughter.”
“No. Consequences found her.”
“She has problems.”
“So get her help.”
“You don’t call police.”
“When someone hurts a child, I do.”
Margaret laughed bitterly.
“You’ve become sentimental.”
Henry looked at her.
“No. I became old enough to recognize cowardice.”
She froze.
Henry placed documents on the desk.
“Your petition to declare me incompetent.”
Margaret’s face changed.
“Where did you get that?”
“My company still employs people loyal to me.”
“I was protecting the family.”
“From me?”
“You disappear for weeks. You refuse to retire. You make impulsive
decisions.”
“Like pretending to be poor?”
“Yes!”
“That one was stupid.”
She blinked.
Henry continued.
“But I am not incompetent.”
Margaret sat.
“You don’t understand.”
“Explain.”
“Daniel will ruin the company.”
“He might.”
“Vanessa is unstable.”
“I noticed.”
“Rebecca is an outsider.”
“And?”
Margaret’s eyes filled with something Henry had rarely seen.
Fear.
“When you die, everything changes.”
“Yes. That is generally how death works.”
“You promised me.”
Henry frowned.
“What?”
“When Eleanor died. You promised I would never be pushed out.”
“I won’t push you out.”
“You already chose Rebecca.”
“This is not a contest.”
“For you, maybe.”
Henry suddenly understood.
Margaret had spent her entire life beside powerful men.
Their father.
Her husband.
Henry.
She had money but never control.
Now she was trying to seize it before age took everyone else.
That explained her fear.
It did not excuse her cruelty.
Frank knocked.
“Henry.”
“What?”
“We found something.”
He handed Henry a tablet.
Security footage from Rebecca’s bedroom.
Margaret entering.
Removing Rebecca’s phone.
Photographing banking passwords from a notebook.
Then Vanessa entering behind her.
Henry looked up.
Margaret whispered, “I can explain.”
“You keep saying that.”
“It wasn’t what you think.”
“Then what was it?”
Margaret closed her eyes.
“Daniel asked me to.”
The room went silent.
Henry stared at his sister.
“My son?”
“He wanted proof Rebecca was stealing from him.”
Henry turned toward the ballroom.
May you like
Daniel stood in the doorway.
His face was white.
