Chapter 7 - The Universe Is Enormous
Victor’s company did not collapse immediately.
That would have been too easy.
But the bridge financing withdrawal exposed everything that had been held together by confidence and borrowed time.
The audit found improper related-party payments.
Expenses disguised as development costs.
Personal purchases routed through business accounts.
The tablet for Liam had been categorized as a “prototype testing device.”
Richard read that line aloud in his office.
Then looked at Sarah.
“Prototype testing device.”
Sarah closed her eyes.
“Dad.”
“I am trying not to use language you dislike.”
“Try harder.”
He put the paper down.
The board removed Victor from direct financial control pending investigation.
He called it betrayal.
Investors called it risk mitigation.
Nora called it Tuesday.
The house entered legal dispute.
Sarah did not fight for the marble island.
She fought for Ethan’s stability.
Eventually, she and Ethan moved into a smaller home near Richard but not inside his estate.
Three bedrooms.
A bright kitchen with old cabinets.
No marble.
A backyard with a crooked fence.
Ethan chose the smallest bedroom because it had a window facing the mountains.
Sarah bought a round kitchen table from a consignment shop.
The first night, they ate pizza on paper plates.
Ethan looked around.
“It’s quieter.”
Sarah smiled.
“Good quieter or weird quieter?”
He thought about it.
“Maybe both.”
“That’s fair.”
The next week, Sarah took Ethan back to the bakery.
Not for a birthday replacement.
For an ordinary Saturday cake.
Chocolate.
White frosting.
No message.
They brought it home and cut two messy slices before dinner.
Ethan looked nervous.
Sarah handed him a fork.
“Cake before dinner?”
“Yes.”
“Is that allowed?”
“In this house, yes.”
He took a bite.
Then smiled.
It was small.
But real.
Richard visited often.
He tried not to overdo gifts after the tablet incident.
He failed occasionally.
One afternoon, he arrived with a telescope.
Sarah crossed her arms.
“Dad.”
Richard looked offended.
“It is educational.”
“It is enormous.”
“The universe is enormous.”
Ethan peeked into the hallway.
“Is that for me?”
Richard looked at Sarah with the face of a man weaponizing his grandson’s joy.
Sarah sighed.
“Fine.”
Ethan spent that night on the back porch looking at the moon.
“Grandpa,” he asked, “does the moon follow cars?”
Richard adjusted the tripod.
“No.”
Ethan looked disappointed.
Richard continued, “But it can feel that way because of distance, perspective, and the way we measure movement.”
Ethan smiled.
“That makes more sense.”
Richard looked at him.
“Better than being told you’re too slow to outrun it?”
Ethan froze.
Sarah stood in the doorway.
Richard had not meant to hurt him.
He had meant to correct an old wound too directly.
Ethan looked through the telescope.
“Dad said that.”
“I know.”
“It was funny then.”
“Was it?”
Ethan was quiet.
“No.”
Richard placed a hand lightly on the back of the chair.
“I’m sorry I did not hear it sooner.”
Ethan shrugged.
“You weren’t always there.”
“No,” Richard said. “I should have looked harder when I was.”
That honesty settled between them.
May you like
Not perfect.
But clean.
