Damien ran through the school parking lot with Marcus right behind him. His heart pounded against his ribs.Principal Anderson met them at the entrance. Her face was serious but not angry."Mr. Webb, thank you for coming so quickly.""What happened? Is Emma hurt?""She is not hurt but there was a physical altercation. Emma pushed another student."Damien felt the world tilt. Emma had never been violent. Never."She pushed someone? That does not sound like her."Principal Anderson led them to her office. Emma sat in a chair by the window staring at her hands."Emma has been increasingly withdrawn and irritable over the past few weeks. Her teachers have noticed. Today it came to a head.""What triggered it?""A classmate made a joke about Emma's famous daddy. He was referencing the viral articles about your custody case."The words hit Damien like ice water. The media attention. The public spectacle of their private pain."What exactly did the boy say?""He asked if Emma's dad was going

Damien stood frozen in Simone's kitchen with the phone pressed against his ear. His mind struggled to process what Sandra Morrison had just said.His father never mentioned a first wife. As far as Damien knew, his father married his mother young, had Damien, and that was it."I am sorry, can you repeat that?" Damien's voice sounded distant to his own ears.Sandra Morrison's tone was patient. "Your father, William Webb, was briefly married in his early twenties to a woman named Catherine Webb.""That is impossible. My mother was his only wife.""I understand this is shocking but I have the marriage certificate and divorce decree. They married when William was twenty-three years old."Damien leaned against the counter. Simone moved closer and placed a hand on his shoulder."They had a daughter named Ashley before divorcing. William paid child support but had minimal contact with her."A daughter. His father had an

Richard's handwriting expert arrived at the office three days after the Philadelphia meeting. Dr. Helen Martinez was a woman in her sixties with brown hair and reading glasses hanging from a chain around her neck.She spread the insurance documents across Richard's conference table like a surgeon preparing for an operation. Damien watched her work with a magnifying glass and measurement tools."The signature on the beneficiary change form shows several irregularities," Dr. Martinez began. She pointed to the capital W in William's name. "Notice how the loop here is too wide compared to authenticated samples from the same period."Damien leaned closer. The difference was subtle but once she pointed it out, he could not unsee it."The pressure is also inconsistent. Your father's authentic signatures show steady pressure throughout. This signature has hesitation marks."Dr. Martinez pulled out three other documents with William's verified signature from 2008. Bank statements and medical

They ordered more coffee and stayed in the café as the afternoon turned to evening. Two strangers connected by a father who had failed them both in different ways.Ashley wrapped her hands around her cup. The warmth seemed to steady her as she began to talk."I grew up knowing I had a father who sent checks but never visited. Never called on my birthday. Never showed up."Damien listened without interrupting. He owed her that much."My mother would tell me stories about him. How charming he was when they met. How he promised to take care of us."Ashley's voice was soft but steady. Years of therapy had probably helped her tell this story without breaking."But the promises stopped when I was still a baby. The checks came every month like clockwork but nothing else. No cards. No phone calls. Nothing."She looked at Damien. "I spent my whole childhood thinking I was not good enough for him to love."The words hit h

Damien did not wait for Ashley to ask. He called a family meeting three days after Sarah Kim's assessment and the weight of what needed to happen sat heavily on his chest.Marcus joined via video from Germany. His face filled one half of the conference room screen. Ashley sat across from Damien with Sarah Kim beside her. Richard was there too.The room felt formal but the air between them was different now. Less hostile. More like family trying to find their way through complicated truths.Damien spoke first. His voice was steady but his hands shook slightly under the table."Ashley, our mother committed fraud that hurt you. It was not malicious but it was wrong."Ashley watched him carefully. Her expression was guarded but open."She is gone so she cannot make it right but I can try."Damien pulled out a folder and slid it across the table. Financial statements from his CloudTech earnings. Numbers that represented years of careful saving."I am proposing to give you six hundred thous