Chapter 38 - her father's warning
That evening, Claire told her father what she had done.
He listened quietly.
Then he asked,
"How long can you keep doing this?"
Claire frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"Every time you find a problem, you pay to solve it."
"I have the resources."
"Yes."
"But?"
He looked at her.
"You're building a system that depends on Claire Sterling."
Claire became silent.
He continued.
"That's not a legacy."
"What is it?"
"A dependency."
The words hurt.
But Claire knew he was right.
"If I keep writing checks every time something breaks," she said, "I'll never solve the reason it breaks."
"Exactly."
Claire sat down.
"So what do I do?"
"Build a model that others can fund."
She looked at him.
"Government?"
"Government. Hospitals. Insurance companies. Foundations. Communities."
Claire thought about it.
For years, her instinct had been to protect.
Now she had to learn to empower.
She smiled.
"You've been waiting years to tell me that."
Her father laughed.
"Decades."
Claire leaned back.
"Then help me build it."
May you like
He nodded.
"Gladly."
