Chapter 5

My father shot to his feet.

“You’re resigning over one document?”

“This isn’t about one document.”

I placed my temporary employee badge on top of the resignation letter.

“I’m done letting Sebastian take the credit while I take the consequences.”

My father’s face darkened.

“You’re a Whitmore. The company faces one problem, and you walk away?”

“Last night, the company belonged to Sebastian. Today, when you need my signature, it suddenly becomes my family responsibility.”

“No one is asking you to take responsibility for him.”

“Then let him sign.”

My father had no answer.

Vivienne stared at the resignation letter.

“I never wanted a position,” I told her. “I only wanted to know whether, in your eyes, I was worth choosing even once.”

She froze.

My father gave a cold laugh.

“Don’t let him frighten you. He’s only trying to force us to give in. Where could he possibly go after leaving Whitmore Holdings?”

I picked up my briefcase and headed for the door.

My mother still believed this was only a more serious argument.

“Go home and take a few days to calm down. We’ll talk when you’re no longer angry.”

They all believed that because I had given in for a year, I would keep doing it.

I left Whitmore House with two suitcases.

They were the same two I had brought with me a year earlier.

I left behind the clothes my mother had bought, the cuff links Celia had given me, and the family portrait taken after my return. My father and Sebastian stood in the center of the photograph. I had been placed at the edge.

Before leaving, I set my key on the desk. The brass tag still read GUEST SUITE.

That was fine.

Since I would not be coming back, no one would have to replace it.

On the day I returned to Vale Risk Advisory to sign the partnership agreement, Harbor Point broke ground.

My father moved forward without the final environmental approval, leaving Vivienne to handle the legal issues. Sebastian led the ceremony in front of the investors and bank representatives, while Celia announced additional funding on behalf of Ashbourne Capital.

That afternoon, Sebastian officially joined the Whitmore Holdings board.

My mother posted a video of the ceremony in the family group chat, then sent me a private message.

[Come home when you’ve calmed down. If you apologize to Sebastian, your father is willing to forget about the resignation.]

I left the family group and signed the partnership agreement.

Marcus collected the documents.

“You’re really not going back?”

“They chose their heir. I chose my own future.”

Three days after Harbor Point broke ground, state regulators arrived for an inspection.

The environmental approval documents were declared invalid, and construction was halted immediately. The bank suspended further funding, while the investors demanded that Whitmore Holdings submit a remediation plan.

My father called an emergency meeting and immediately assigned the remediation to me.

“Callum knows the risks better than anyone,” he said. “Bring him back.”

Sebastian reminded him, “He submitted his resignation.”

“He’s trying to force us to make concessions on the trust,” my father said dismissively. “Tell him that if he fixes Harbor Point, I’ll reconsider his rights.”