Chapter 4 - THE SON WHO HAD TO ADMIT THE UGLIEST PART
Julian came to Gabriel's house alone.
No Evelyn.
No Richard.
No lawyer.
Clara let him inside.
He looked as though he had not slept.
Gabriel waited in the library.
His cane rested beside him.
Visible.
Julian sat opposite.
Neither spoke.
Finally Gabriel asked:
“Did you know my fall wasn't an accident?”
Julian's head snapped up.
“What?”
Gabriel watched carefully.
Real shock.
“No.”
Good.
One thing saved.
“Did you know Martin Sloane buried evidence?”
“No.”
“Did you know the Hart property offer was thirty million below market?”
Silence.
There.
“How much did you know?”
Julian rubbed both hands over his face.
“Dad.”
“How much?”
“I knew it was low.”
“How low?”
“Twenty, maybe twenty-five.”
Gabriel stared.
“And you supported it.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Julian's eyes filled with anger.
“Because everything has been frozen since you fell.”
Gabriel didn't move.
“Every decision comes back to whether you're strong enough to make it.”
There.
“People call me acting CEO and then call you afterward.”
“You resented that.”
“Yes!”
The word exploded.
Julian stood.
“For thirty-four years, every room has been yours before I enter it.”
Gabriel's face changed.
Julian continued:
“At the company.”
“At home.”
“At my own wedding.”
Clara stayed near the door.
This was not her interruption to make.
Julian's voice broke.
“I wanted one day where nobody watched me to see what Gabriel Falcone thought.”
Gabriel looked down.
Then:
“So you hid me.”
Julian said nothing.
Gabriel's voice became quieter.
“You hid your injured father so people would look at you.”
Julian closed his eyes.
“Yes.”
No excuse.
That mattered.
“I told the planner to keep you behind the curtain through the ceremony.”
Gabriel's hand tightened.
“I told them to remove your chair from the family table.”
Clara inhaled.
“And the cane?”
Julian looked horrified.
“No.”
“I never told anyone to take it.”
Gabriel believed him.
Clara did too.
“Why the proxy?”
Julian sat.
“Richard said the board would never close the Hart deal with you objecting.”
“He was correct.”
“I thought if we closed it, I could prove I was capable of running things.”
Gabriel stared at his son.
“So this wasn't protecting me.”
“No.”
Julian finally looked directly at him.
“It was protecting my chance to stop being you.”
Pain moved across Gabriel's face.
Not anger.
Recognition.
Julian continued:
“I am ashamed of what I did.”
“You should be.”
Clara looked at Gabriel.
Harsh.
But honest.
Then Gabriel added:
“So am I.”
Julian froze.
“I spent your whole childhood teaching you that weakness was something other people used.”
Gabriel touched the cane.
“Then I was surprised when you treated mine like something contagious.”
Julian began crying.
Gabriel did not hug him.
Not yet.
Some damage deserved more than a single emotional moment.
“Did Richard ever discuss my accident with you?”
“No.”
“Martin?”
“No.”
Then Julian remembered something.
“Wait.”
“What?”
“The week before you fell.”
Julian's face changed.
“Richard asked whether your hip problems had gotten worse.”
Gabriel frowned.
“I didn't have hip problems.”
“I know.”
Silence.
“He asked before the accident?”
“Yes.”
May you like
Gabriel and Clara looked at each other.
That was no longer coincidence.
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