Chapter 13
Ethan lost Lombardi access.
Vanessa left Julian’s home.
Diane lost control over donor seating, youth events, and family hosting.
No spectacle.
No exile into poverty.
Just removal from the channels they abused.
Some relatives called me soft.
Others called me brutal.
Both were wrong.
Precision rarely satisfies people who enjoy drama.
Diane could still attend family gatherings if invited.
She could not decide who belonged where.
That difference mattered.
Vanessa asked to return my mother’s diamond brooch.
I had not known she possessed it.
Another gift from Diane.
Another symbolic elevation.
I took it.
No speech.
She looked at me.
“Will Avice ever forgive me?”
I stared.
“That question is still about you.”
Her face fell.
Good.
“Change whether she forgives you or not.”
She nodded.
Maybe she understood.
Maybe not yet.
Ethan tried insulting me on his way out.
“Whole empire bent around a child.”
I smiled.
“No.”
I glanced toward the aquarium where Avice was pressing both hands against the glass.
“An empire strong enough to survive one child being treated with dignity.”
He had no answer.
Then Raymond came beside me.
“Older capos want clarity.”
“About?”
“Succession.”
Of course.
“Tell them to work.”
He laughed.
“I’m serious.”
“So am I.”
I had no intention of naming Julian because he had a daughter.
No intention of rejecting him because he had no son.
No intention of looking two generations ahead to children not yet born.
Ability first.
Character.
Judgment.
Then continuity.
Not the other way around.
Raymond nodded slowly.
“Your father would hate that.”
“My father hated seafood.”
He looked at the aquarium.
“Fair.”
May you like
Old men can survive disappointment.
Children should not have to build their identities around preventing it.
