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I wonder if he ever regrets how he treated his son. That he didn’t see Brian grow up. That he wasn’t there when Brian needed him. He paid for Brian’s upbringing like it was just another service, not realizing how lucky he was to have a child. Or how stupid he was to waste all those years. Not to mention the psychological damage he has caused his own son.
Brian has some very deep scars and trust issues because of him, which have only become worse over the years. It’s no wonder he was so determined to do the right thing with Daniel.
Hurling accusations at a man who is almost dead, even if I don’t actually voice them, feels very wrong, mostly because I know I’d ask him all those things if he weren’t unconscious.
I turn around to leave when I hear a soft whisper coming from his bed. Roberts’s eyes are slightly opened and so is his mouth.
“What did you say?” I ask and rush to his side. Great. I stayed here to help and missed the one thing I should have heard. “I will call the doctor immediately,” I assure him.
Robert shakes his head and coughs once.
“Mr. Reeds, I—” There’s a storm of thoughts going through my mind, making me dizzy. “I’ll get help,” I tell him and rush outside.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Brian
“Can’tyoujustliedown a little longer?” I grab the pillows and fluff them up before I push my father back into bed. He’s fuming in frustration at having to stay one more night at the hospital, to the point where I’m starting to worry about him having a stroke.
“No, I cannot. And stop treating me like a child.” He grabs his phone in a futile attempt to call for help.
“You seriously think you will find someone to come and sign your discharge papers?” I ask, amused.
“Well,” Carol chimes in. “There are some people that just can’t take no for an answer.”
My father chuckles, suddenly in a better mood. “How about we meet somewhere in the middle? I will stay here one more night. But you two won’t.”
“Tired of us already?” the mocking clear in my voice.
For the last seven days we have been here, my father has been begging me to go home and rest. Carol too. She’s been staying here till late at night and coming back right after work. I’ve told her there’s no need to exhaust herself, but she doesn’t want to hear it. At least she accepted the driver I offered. There’s no way I’d let her take a taxi past midnight.
“You’ve got a son to take care of and a company to run,” my father reminds me with a little twinkle in his eyes.
“Daniel is fine. He still thinks I’m on a business trip. As for work.” I point at the laptop across the room. “I haven’t missed a single day.” Daniel has not been told that his grandfather is sick. As for the company, since the arrest of Arthur, a sizeable number of employees have been fired—anyone who knew of his actions—and some of them have been arrested. His plan to have me and the company discredited turned out to be much worse than I initially thought.
Having become disillusioned by always being regarded as second to me—the son of the owner—he started to view the rich as entitled and spoiled. Arthur believed he was living in an unfair world, so he started to apply his financial and computer genius to breaking those systems—something that was far more profitable too.
The police found that he had connections with like-minded people and together they targeted companies in order to steal from them and then bankrupt them—an act of justice and a form of revenge against the system in their eyes. I don’t know when all of this started, but apparently, he has been practicing on smaller companies for at least two years.
My company was the largest of the lot and the most personal to him. That’s why Arthur kept leaving traces behind, something that he didn’t do with any of the other targets. He wanted me to know, to worry, to feel useless, almost powerless to act. That was his downfall.
My father sighs and turns to Carol, breaking my train of thought. “Take him.”
She bursts out laughing and comes closer, placing a hand on my shoulder. Her sweet perfume lifts my spirits. “I’ll have to agree with your father on this one,” she says. “You are exhausted, Brian. You need some proper sleep. It’s not like either of us is much help here.”
I can’t really argue with that. Father is clearly fine, perhaps even more energetic than he has been the last few years. And I know both my mom and Mary are exhausted from handling Daniel on their own. Even with Sunny’s help and Andrew’s visits, Daniel has been restless because of my absence.
“Alright, we’ll go.” I push my hands on the mattress to be able to get up. I guess they’re both right; I am exhausted.
We wait until the doctor makes his visit for the day, and after he reassures me this is just a formality, we head out.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Carol asks me.
“My car?”
“You are not driving in this state.” She gestures from my head to my toes to highlight my fatigue. But all I can think of is how different we look today.
I’m in jeans and a blue t-shirt and have been wearing sneakers for the past few days. Carol on the other hand always looks beautifully dressed every time she comes straight from work. Her light pink dress matches her blush at the moment.
