“I want to know why.”
That question demanded a level of honesty I wasn't sure I had. I looked at August and really saw him. He was my father’s brother and the man who had helped build the hospital from the ground up. He had been around during all those years when my father was absent.
“Because claiming this felt like I was finally accepting him,” I said slowly. “It felt like I was saying our relationship was good enough. I didn't want to act like the way he raised us was okay, or how he treated Emma.”
“And you clearly aren't okay with any of it.”
“No, I’m not. He was never there for us. He measured my entire worth based on my surgical records and my ability to be perfect.” I gripped the edge of the table until my knuckles turned white. “He left me an inheritance that feels like a demand for gratitude. Taking it felt like saying everything was fine when it never was.”
A long silence filled the room after I spoke. August looked down at his own hands, which looked older than I remembered.
“He was not a good father,” August's voice had dropped low, stripped of its usual polished edge.
“No, he wasn't.”
“He had standards that were impossible to meet. He made both of us feel like we would never be enough for him.” August paused, rubbing his thumb along the edge of the table. “I was his brother and you were his son, but neither of us could ever measure up to his expectations.”
“I know that,” I replied.
“But he still built something that matters.” August met my eyes again. “This hospital saves hundreds of lives every single week. The money he left is funding research that’s changing how we handle heart care. Regardless of his failures as a man, the legacy itself has value that goes beyond our personal pain.”
Intellectually, I knew he was right. I understood the logic behind his words. But emotionally, taking the money still felt like I was betraying my own principles.
“I’m aware of that,” I said.
“Are you? Because you have spent nine months treating this inheritance like it was poison. You acted like touching it would somehow ruin you.”
He was right about that, too. I had viewed my father’s legacy as something toxic that I needed to avoid at all costs. But maybe Cassian was right when he said my father was just a dead man now. The inheritance was just property and power that I could use for something good if I chose to.
“I think I can separate the emotional baggage from the practical responsibility,” I said, testing out how the words felt.
“Are you sure you can do that?”
“Well, I’m sitting here today, aren't I?”
“You’re here, but are you ready to lead? Or are you going to sign these papers and then vanish for another three years?”
I held his stare.
“I’m ready,” I told him. “I would not have called this meeting if I wasn't serious about it.”
Sebastian spoke up again. “There’s another detail we need to cover. August has a share of the properties, for example his private hospital. According to him and the documents provided, he has a claim to at most fifty percent to these properties, including the private hospital. As you claim your inheritance, will you be giving him what belongs to him?”
I saw the tension in August’s shoulders when Sebastian mentioned the properties. This was clearly very important to him.
“Consider it done,” I said immediately.
He looked surprised. “Just like that?”
“Yes, just like that.” I turned my attention to Sebastian. “I want you to give to him all that belongs to him.”
August chuckled, shaking his head. “Thank you.”
“You built this together with my father, August. It's rightfully yours.” I leaned back in my chair.
August studied me for a long moment, trying to figure out what was happening. “What’s really going on with you?”
“I'm making a choice that I should’ve made a long time ago.”
