Chapter 7 - THE KING WHO WALKED AWAY
David lost nearly half his fortune.
He didn't care.
He sold warehouses.
Closed clubs.
Dismissed men involved in violence.
His legitimate businesses remained.
His security company.
His construction company.
His restaurants.
His real estate holdings.
But the old organization was gone.
People thought he had become weak.
They were wrong.
He had simply found something more important than power.
Chloe.
She became the center of his world.
He attended parent-teacher conferences.
He learned the names of her teachers.
He helped with math homework.
He hated glitter.
She loved glitter.
Every surface in his penthouse became covered in it.
One morning, I found him wearing a glitter-covered T-shirt.
I laughed.
"You look ridiculous."
He looked down.
"Your daughter did this."
"Our daughter."
He corrected himself.
"Our daughter."
I smiled.
That word still felt strange.
Beautiful.
Our daughter.
One evening, David asked me to walk with him.
We went to the lake.
Chicago glittered behind us.
"I owe you an apology."
"For what?"
"For the man I was."
I looked at him.
"You were never perfect."
"I wasn't good."
"Neither was I."
He stopped.
"You disappeared."
"Because I was afraid."
"I should have found you."
"You couldn't."
"I should have tried harder."
I didn't answer.
He looked toward the water.
"I can't change the past."
"No."
"But I can make sure you never feel alone again."
I looked at him.
"What are you asking?"
"Nothing."
He smiled.
"I've learned that asking for forgiveness doesn't mean you're entitled to it."
That sentence surprised me.
David Carter had learned humility.
"I don't know if I can forgive everything."
"I understand."
"But I don't hate you."
He looked at me.
"That's enough."
We returned home.
Chloe was waiting.
She had built a cardboard castle in the living room.
"Dad!"
David looked at the mess.
"What happened?"
"I'm a queen."
He smiled.
"Of course you are."
"And you're the king."
He nodded.
"Okay."
"And Mom is the dragon."
I laughed.
David looked at me.
"I can live with that."
For the first time in years, our home sounded like a family.
Then came the unexpected.
David's mother arrived.
Margaret Carter.
She had never met me.
She had never met Chloe.
She looked at the little girl and began crying.
"She's Gabriel's eyes."
I froze.
"Gabriel?"
David's mother nodded.
"My husband's eyes were blue."
David looked confused.
"Mine are blue."
"Yes."
She touched Chloe's cheek.
"But she has the same expression your brother had when he smiled."
Then she handed me an old photograph.
It showed David and his older brother as children.
The resemblance between Gabriel and Chloe was astonishing.
David stared.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Margaret looked at him.
"Because Richard told me you knew."
Silence.
Another lie.
Richard had manipulated everyone.
He had kept the family divided.
The final piece of his betrayal became clear.
He had wanted David isolated so Vincent could take control.
But Richard had died before he could finish.
David closed his eyes.
"He stole eight years."
I touched his hand.
"He doesn't get the rest."
David looked at Chloe.
May you like
"No."
"He doesn't."
