Chapter 24 - ROBERT’S LAST YEARS
Robert never returned to Bellmere.
NorthStar invited him once to an anniversary event because his name remained in the historical record.
He declined.
He lived to eighty-four.
His relationship with Alexander became limited.
Phone calls.
Occasional lunches.
No business.
No pressure to restore the old hierarchy.
Robert eventually admitted:
“I thought being needed was the same as being loved.”
Alexander told me that after one visit.
I understood.
Did not absolve.
Robert died after heart failure.
No suspicious death.
No hidden poisoning.
No final corporate conspiracy.
His estate paid remaining restitution and legal obligations first.
Lawful assets distributed afterward.
Lily received:
A watch that had belonged to Eleanor.
And a short letter.
I watched her read.
I was wrong to make your existence feel like something taken from me.
Then:
You did not cost me control. I refused to understand the control was temporary.
Lily cried.
Kept the watch.
Not the letter.
She shredded it months later.
May you like
Objects and paper get different futures.
That is allowed.
