Chapter 26 - The Last Thing My Father Left Me
Two years after the wedding, the military academy invited me to speak at a memorial ceremony honoring General Arthur Vance.
I almost refused.
Then I saw the young cadets standing in formation.
I accepted.
After the ceremony, an elderly colonel approached me.
“I served with your father.”
I smiled.
“What was he like?”
The colonel laughed.
“Stubborn.”
I laughed too.
“Very.”
“He once told me something.”
“What?”
“If Nora ever becomes a soldier, don't protect her from difficult decisions.”
I froze.
“He said that?”
“Yes.”
The colonel handed me a sealed envelope.
“He gave this to me years ago.”
My hands trembled.
Inside was a letter.
Nora,
If you're reading this, then I've probably failed to tell you enough while I was alive.
I never wanted you to inherit my company simply because you were my daughter.
I wanted you to inherit the responsibility of deciding what it should become.
If you discover that something I built is wrong, change it.
If you discover that something I trusted is dangerous, walk away from it.
And if one day you realize my legacy needs to end for your life to begin, let it end.
I couldn't continue.
I pressed the letter against my chest.
Caleb found me outside.
“What happened?”
I gave him the letter.
He read it.
Then he smiled.
“Your father knew you.”
I wiped my eyes.
“Yes.”
“He knew you'd need permission to become yourself.”
I laughed through my tears.
“Apparently.”
That evening, I placed the letter beside his photograph.
And finally, I understood.
My father had never wanted me to live in his shadow.
May you like
He had wanted me to step beyond it.
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