Got it.
Theo
What if it was a paper company in Scranton?
Kaori
I’d still go.
Andy
Me too.
Derrick
Ditto.
Leon
What they said.
Theo
Noted.
Twenty-Six
The weeks that follow unravel in strange, surreal ways. September blurs into October, and then November, until the dates on the calendar stop meaning much at all. My life becomes a revolving door of meetings, legal briefings, and endless cups of tea.
Leon flies back to Orlando shortly after the press conference to manage the fallout in the States, but Theo and I stay in the UK while the initial stages of the criminal investigation unfold.
We split our time between his London flat and Nan’s cottage in Devon, trying to keep our footing while the ground beneath us continues to shift. We’re only there long enough to finish our part in the proceedings. By the mid-November, the investigators have what they need and we head back home. To Orlando.
So much happens in such quick succession that it’s hard to keep the timeline straight. In all, nearly thirty former Excelsior employees come forward—some with new complaints, but most with stories years in the making. Theydetail the abuse, intimidation, and corruption they’ve endured under Cuthbert Harris’ thumb.
Lawyers on both sides of the Atlantic are now assembling cases designed to hold up in both the UK and the US. With everything he’s done, there’s a very real possibility he’ll face criminal charges—not just for harassment and coercion, but for something far more damning.
The legal team Nan retained has uncovered a financial minefield stretching back more than fifteen years, long before Theo’s grandfather passed away. Money was funneled through shell accounts and transfers were disguised as routine expenses. The trail only became visible once Mr. Harris grew careless enough to move funds directly from company accounts into his own.
It’s strange how quickly a person can go from being untouchable to being cornered. With every witness who comes forward and each document that’s unearthed, another thread unravels from the empire he built on intimidation and fear.
Theo hasn’t spoken much about how he feels about it all, but the emotions live plainly on his face every time new evidence surfaces. Relief that the truth is finally coming out. Grief because the man being exposed is still his father, and his grandfather’s company likely won’t survive another year. And deep, quiet anger that it’s taken this long for the truth to come to light.
Through it all, we settle into something steady. It’s a rhythm built on quiet gestures—reaching for a hand when the words don’t come, offering comfort without being asked, and kissing for reassurance as much as for passion. It isn’t perfect, but it’s real. We’ve become each other’s lifelines, tethering one another back to shore whenever the tide threatens to pull us under.
Unsurprisingly, Theo’s father isn’t handling his fall from power well. He’s tried everything to get us to drop the charges, from frantic calls and vitriolic emails to pounding on the door of Theo’s London flat at two in the morning.
But between Nan’s private security and my own protection officers, he is turned away every single time. It’s the first hard boundary Theo has ever drawn with him. Even though I can see how much it hurts him, he isn’t yielding. Not this time.
What surprised everyone, including Theo, is how quickly his new venture has taken shape in the wreckage.
Nan can’t persuade Theo to take the helm of Excelsior Parks, but she does convince him to take over the Orlando office. As she pointed out, it has been an Excelsior property in name only for a long time. Theo has already been running it on his own terms—hiring the staff, shaping the culture, and building the client relationships.
When the transfer of the Orlando assets is complete, Theo announces that anyone who wants to stay with Excelsior can transfer to London or leave on their own terms, no questions asked. So far he’s retained one hundred percent of his staff. It says everything about the kind of leader he is.
As for the future, I’ve had to think carefully about my own next steps.
On paper, the obvious choice is to join Theo outright—to fold my career neatly into his the same way our lives have intertwined. But the more I think about it, the more I realize that isn’t quite right. It isn’t about a lack of trust; it’s because I finally trustmyselfenough to know what I need.
