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Chapter 7
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The Wrong Name on the Card Chapter 9
I looked at my sister.Suddenly, I remembered the day I was kidnapped. Nora had chased the abductors' car until she fell, scraping herself bloody on the road.I'd carried that memory for more than twenty years."Nora," I said, "I can help. But not as their son."She raised her head, confused."I'll invest in Bellamy Group as an outside investor. In return, I want a fifty-one-percent ownership stake."She stared at me."Asher...""That's as far as I'm willing to go. I can't go back to being part of that household. But I can help you in a different way."She sat quietly for a long time.Then she nodded."Okay. I'll talk to Dad."She stood to leave, but paused at the door and looked back."Asher. I'm sorry. I failed you."I smiled a little."Nora, you could spend the rest of your life trying to make up for what happened, and it still wouldn't be enough."But that's okay. I'm not asking you to."She left.I stood at the window and watched her disappear into the crowd belo
The Wrong Name on the Card Chapter 8
"Now I have a home of my own."I walked away without turning around to see how they reacted.Their expressions didn't matter anymore.***A year later, Asher Technologies closed its Series B funding round at a valuation of roughly seventy-five million dollars.I moved the company into one of the finest office towers downtown.We threw another celebration when the new office opened. Marcus came, too, raising his glass with a grin."Asher, looks like I bet on the right guy."I clinked my glass against his.Later, after a few rounds of drinks, I stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows and looked out at the city lights.My phone rang.An unfamiliar number."Hello?"A small, earnest voice answered."Is this Mr. Bellamy?""Yes. Who's this?""My name's Finn Collier. I'm eight. My dad said you used to work together, and he wanted me to call and wish you a happy New Year."I paused, and someone came to mind.A longtime Bellamy Group employee who'd worked under me before Logan pu
The Wrong Name on the Card Chapter 7
"It's true.""Oh, that's wonderful! When are you coming home for dinner? I'll make all your favorites."I waited a few seconds."Mom. Just tell me what you really want."Silence.Then Dad came on the line, his laugh a little forced."Asher, we hear you're starting your own business. That's great. It's just... Bellamy Group's having some cash-flow trouble lately. Do you think you could...?""No."I didn't let him finish."That investment is for building my company, Dad. It's not a bailout for Bellamy Group.""Is that any way to speak to your father?" he snapped. "Your family needs help, and you're going to turn your back on us? My blood runs through your veins!"There it was again. Blood.I laughed once, without humor."Dad, do you remember what you said ten days ago? That if I complained about Logan getting my project, you'd stop calling me your son?"He went quiet."I remember every word," I said. "So you don't have to call me your son anymore."I ended the call.My p
The Wrong Name on the Card Chapter 6
Nora bowed her head. She didn't answer.It was Logan who murmured, "I'm sorry, Asher..."For a moment I nearly laughed.There were five people in this family. Every one of them knew how I'd been wronged, and how much I'd done for them. They'd all just chosen not to see it.Yet the only person who'd actually said "I'm sorry" was the one with the most to hide.I closed my eyes, pulled my feelings back under control, and turned toward the front door."Asher!" Mom hurried after me. "Where are you going this late?""Somewhere to stay.""But you have a room here..."I turned back to her."That room was mine ten years ago. Didn't you turn it into Logan's walk-in closet?"Mom stopped short.I opened the front door and stepped out into the night.***I booked a hotel room near the office.All night, I lay on the bed staring at the ceiling, unable to sleep.At eight the next morning, I arrived at work on time.The handover was easier than I'd expected. I packed up the client dat
The Wrong Name on the Card Chapter 5
The room went still.Dad's face darkened."What did you just say?""I said you can give the company to Logan."My voice carried clearly through the silence."All the project files, client records, and plans for next year are on my computer. I'll make sure everything is handed over tomorrow."Mom reacted first. She practically lunged at me and grabbed my arm so hard her nails dug into my skin."Asher, you can't say things like that! You're the one who built this company up. How can you just walk away?"Her eyes were full of panic, but still not remorse."I made one little mistake with a card. Are you really abandoning your responsibilities over that?"Dad gave a contemptuous snort."You're making a big deal out of nothing! Logan is part of this family, too. What's wrong with letting him work on one project? Everything you have, everything you've had all these years, came from this family. Now that you're successful, you think you can threaten your own parents?"He was shouti
The Wrong Name on the Card Chapter 4
"Asher did a great job. He's really going places," he'd said.Then, almost immediately, he'd written in the family chat:"We should let Logan help out on the project Asher just landed. It'll look great on his resume."2020. 2021. 2022.Year after year, I worked myself to the bone trying to prove I was worth something.Year after year, my family bent over backward to make up for what Logan had lost.They were compensating him for having no biological parents. For supposedly living under someone else's roof. For every hardship they imagined and every debt they felt they owed him.And me?I was the child who'd actually been kidnapped. The one who'd spent more than a decade growing up away from home. The one who'd needed them more than anyone.Yet somehow, I was the child who never needed anything made up to him.Because I'd been found.Because I should be grateful.Because I was their flesh and blood, and apparently that meant I was expected to endure anything.But the latest
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