Chapter 6 - The Legacy He Begged For
David tried to stand, but his legs seemed uncertain beneath him. He remained kneeling on the tarmac, a billionaire’s son reduced to a man begging beside luggage he had not packed.
“Allison lied,” he said.
Catherine looked past him toward the woman in the dusty rose dress, standing near the car with mascara streaking beneath her eyes.
“I know.”
“You knew?”
“I knew enough.”
David’s voice broke. “Then why didn’t you tell me about Noah?”
Catherine’s expression remained calm, but pain moved behind it.
“Because when I was pregnant, you were already leaving me emotionally. When doctors told me to avoid stress, your mother was calling me defective for having daughters. When Noah came early overseas, you were photographed leaving a hotel with Allison.”
David looked down.
“I thought we lost the baby.”
“You thought it was convenient not to ask.”
Megan finally spoke, weakly. “Catherine, this is cruel.”
Catherine turned to her.
“Cruel was calling my daughters obstacles. Cruel was telling their father he deserved a woman who could give the family a son. Cruel was building a celebration around a baby you thought would replace them.”
Richard cleared his throat. “We can discuss this privately.”
Catherine almost smiled.
“Privacy is what allowed all of you to say things you’re ashamed to repeat now.”
David looked at Noah, who was playing with Catherine’s bracelet, unaware of the adult devastation around him.
“What do you want from me?” he asked.
“Nothing.”
That answer frightened him more than anger.
Catherine opened the passport folder. The details remained hidden, but David saw enough to understand: visas, custody orders, travel authorizations, trust documents, signatures arranged long before he began celebrating Allison’s pregnancy.
“You planned this.”
“I protected this.”
“Catherine, I’m still his father.”
She held his gaze.
“Biology is not a throne you remember when another crown disappears.”
David flinched.
Allison covered her mouth.
Catherine stepped onto the first stair.
David whispered, “Please.”
May you like
She looked back once.
“Enjoy the legacy you begged for.”
