Chapter 14 - The Empire Survives Its FounderArthur Vance died on a rainy Tuesday morning with his grandchildren beside him.
He was seventy-three.
Kelly held one hand.
Leo held the other.
Luca stood at the foot of the bed.
I stood beside him.
Arthur’s final coherent words were not about money.
Not the company.
Not inheritance.
“Take care of each other.”
Then he was gone.
At the funeral, more than six hundred employees, former employees, suppliers, friends, and community leaders attended.
Luca stood alone beneath a black umbrella.
Chloe did not attend.
After the service, he approached me.
“I thought I'd feel different.”
“How?”
“Rich.”
I looked toward Arthur’s grave.
“And?”
Luca swallowed.
May you like
“I'd give everything I have to hear him criticize one more contract.”
For once, there was nothing to say.
Related Stories
Chapter 15 - One Dollar And A Broken SonThe formal estate reading occurred eleven days later.
Chapter 16 - Rourke Makes His Final MoveRourke refused to disappear quietly.
Chapter 17 - Jessi Builds Something Of Her OwnOne year after Arthur’s death, Vance Global recorded its strongest quarter in company history.
Chapter 18 - Luca Learns The Cost Of Starting OverLuca lost almost everything.
Chapter 19 - The Family Finds Another BeginningTwo years passed.
Chapter 20 - The Letter Arthur Never MentionedThree years after the night I heard Chloe’s message, life no longer felt like something I was merely surviving.
