Chapter 8 - The Final Settlement
A week before the trip to the San Juan Islands, Evan requested an emergency meeting through his attorneys. He wanted to discuss a final settlement regarding his remaining non-voting shares in the company.
We met in a conference room at Vance Global. Evan looked healthier than he had two years ago; he had started a small consultancy firm, finding a modest level of success, but the grandiosity was gone. He looked like a man who had accepted his reality.
As we signed the final financial separation papers, finalizing the clean break of our corporate ties, Evan set his pen down and looked at me across the table.
"I heard about Dr. Albright," Evan said quietly, his voice devoid of malice, containing only a poignant sincerity. "The tech blogs and social columns talk about the two of you."
"Thomas is a wonderful man," I replied neutrally.
"Is he good to Leo?" Evan asked, his voice thick with emotion.
"He is incredibly consistent, Evan. He shows up. That’s all Leo ever needed."
Evan closed his eyes for a brief moment, nodding slowly. "I met Vivian last week. By accident, at a coffee shop downtown. She tried to complain to me about her new boyfriend, trying to use the same old tears. And for the first time, I felt absolutely nothing. I walked away."
He looked up at me, his eyes clear. "I realized that my biggest mistake wasn't just leaving that night Leo had a fever. It was the fact that I let a person from my past dictate the value of my present. I ruined my life because I wanted to feel needed by someone who was just using me, while ignoring the people who actually loved me."
"I glad you realized that, Evan," I said, gathering my papers. "For your own sake, and for Leo's during your visits."
"Zoe," he called out as I reached the door. "Does he... does he still call me uncle?"
May you like
I paused, looking back at him. "No, Evan. He calls you Dad now. Because he understands the concept of a father enough to know that you are his biological one. But he also knows that a title is just a word. Real family is defined by who stays."
Evan nodded, a solitary tear escaping his eye as he looked down at the signed documents. He had his freedom, he had his wealth, but he would spend the rest of his life knowing he had traded a masterpiece for a cheap imitation.
