Chapter 5 - The Heir Apparents
Julian showed up at my corporate headquarters on Wednesday. He looked haggard, having bypassed his own crashing company to beg for an audience with me. I allowed him exactly ten minutes in the conference room.
He didn't ask about the stocks or the impending bankruptcy of his family's legacy. He just looked at me with shattered eyes.
"I want to see them. Please, Clara. Just let me talk to them."
I considered him for a moment. My boys were smart. They knew who he was, and they knew why we had left. I wasn't going to hide them. I buzzed my assistant and had the boys brought down from the executive daycare suite.
When they walked in, Julian dropped to his knees. Tears welled in his eyes as he looked at the three boys who shared his face. "Hi," he choked out. "I'm... I'm your dad."
Leo, the oldest by three minutes, stepped forward. He put his hands in his pockets, exuding an authority that Julian never possessed.
"You're Julian Sterling," Leo said matter-of-factly. "Our mother built our lives. You just gave us DNA. We don't need a dad. We have an empire."
May you like
Miles and Silas nodded in agreement from behind him.
Julian broke down sobbing, right there on the corporate carpet. He realized in that agonizing moment that he hadn't just lost a wife five years ago; he had lost the only real legacy he would ever have. His sons were titans, and they wanted absolutely nothing to do with him.
