Chapter 8 - The Father Who Came Back for His Daughter
William Bennett was found three days later in Madison.
He was sitting alone in a small café.
Graham and Paige walked toward him.
He looked older.
Smaller.
Tired.
“Graham.”
Graham sat.
“You owe me answers.”
“I know.”
“Why did you let me hate you?”
William looked down.
“Because hatred was safer than hope.”
Paige sat beside him.
“Dad.”
William's eyes filled.
“I am sorry.”
She took his hand.
“I know.”
He looked at Graham.
“Your father trusted me.”
“I know.”
“He wanted to expose Richard.”
“Why didn't he?”
“He was afraid.”
Graham's jaw tightened.
“My whole life.”
William nodded.
“He made mistakes.”
“So did I.”
“No.”
William shook his head.
“You were a child.”
Graham looked away.
William pulled out a small metal box.
“This belongs to you.”
Inside was a key.
“What does it open?”
“Your father's first office.”
“That building doesn't exist anymore.”
“Part of it does.”
They returned to Chicago.
Beneath an old warehouse owned by Westbridge was a sealed basement.
Inside was a room untouched for twenty years.
Files covered the walls.
Photographs.
Contracts.
Letters.
And a small tape recorder.
Graham pressed play.
His father's voice returned.
“Graham, if you found this, then your mother failed to keep you away from the truth.”
A laugh.
“She always was stubborn.”
Graham smiled through tears.
“I didn't leave you wealth.”
The recording continued.
“I left you a choice.”
The room fell silent.
“Westbridge was never supposed to become a fortress. It was supposed to become a place where people with good ideas could build something without becoming slaves to people with more money.”
Graham looked at Paige.
His father's final words were simple.
“Don't become me.”
Then the tape ended.
Graham sat in silence.
Paige reached for his hand.
“You won't.”
“How do you know?”
“Because you changed.”
“When?”
“When you stopped trying to fire me.”
He laughed.
“That was difficult.”
“I know.”
They left the warehouse together.
Two months later, Graham reorganized Westbridge.
He removed corrupt board members.
Created an ethics division.
Established a foundation in his father's name.
And he gave Paige something unexpected.
“What's this?”
She held a folder.
“Your own department.”
She stared.
“Operations and executive strategy.”
“You want me to stay?”
He looked at her.
“I want you to lead.”
“You're promoting me?”
“Yes.”
“To what?”
“Partner.”
Paige laughed.
“You realize I still don't have a college degree.”
“Then go finish it.”
She looked at him.
“You remembered?”
“I remember everything about you.”
Her eyes softened.
Then she kissed him.
But their happiness had one final obstacle.
Graham's mother approached Paige privately.
“You need to know something.”
Paige frowned.
“What?”
“Graham's father left one final condition in his will.”
“What condition?”
“The person Graham marries becomes co-owner of the family trust.”
Paige froze.
“You're saying…”
“I’m saying Richard wanted the trust. He believed marrying you or controlling you would give him leverage.”
Paige stared.
“But I'm not marrying Graham for money.”
“I know.”
“Then why tell me?”
“Because I want you to know that when Graham asks you, he knows exactly what he is asking.”
Paige looked at her.
“You think he's going to propose?”
Her future mother-in-law smiled.
“Men like Graham don't hide their plans. They hide their feelings.”
That night, Graham took Paige to the rooftop of Westbridge.
Chicago glittered below.
He handed her a small box.
Paige laughed.
“No.”
He frowned.
“What?”
“Are you serious?”
“Yes.”
She opened it.
Inside was not a ring.
It was a key.
“To what?”
“My house.”
She looked up.
“I want you to have your own key before I give you anything else.”
Her eyes filled.
Graham took a breath.
“Paige Bennett, you walked into my office eighteen minutes late carrying one shoe, insulted my filing system, dismantled my schedule, saved my company, uncovered a conspiracy, and somehow convinced me that coming home doesn't have to mean being alone.”
She laughed through tears.
“That was a very long proposal.”
“I haven't proposed yet.”
“Oh.”
May you like
He knelt.
“Now I am.”
