Chapter 15
Marcus came to see me after six months.
No expensive performance.
Still expensive suit.
Some habits survive consequences.
He sat across from me.
“I hate working under Luca.”
“Good.”
He frowned.
“That’s petty.”
“No.”
I almost smiled.
“It means Luca is not flattering you.”
Marcus sighed.
Then became serious.
“I was wrong about Ethan.”
“Specific.”
He hated that.
Good.
“I turned him into a future instead of treating him like a boy.”
Better.
“And Ruby?”
His jaw tightened.
“I treated her like an obstacle.”
Better.
“And Valentina?”
He looked away.
“I used her fear.”
There.
That was the deepest one.
He loved his sister.
Still manipulated her.
Because her insecurity aligned with his ambition.
“I told her if Ruby stayed central, Ethan would eventually be pushed out.”
“Did you believe it?”
“At first.”
“And later?”
“No.”
Silence.
“So why continue?”
Marcus looked at me.
“Because by then the plan benefited me.”
Clean.
Ugly.
Useful.
I leaned back.
“What do you want now?”
“Some authority back.”
Of course.
“No.”
His face tightened.
“Why meet me?”
“Because relationship and rank are different.”
He stared.
Apparently everyone in this family needed that sentence multiple times.
“You are my cousin.”
“Yes.”
“You betrayed me.”
“Yes.”
“Both remain true.”
Marcus nodded slowly.
“Can we rebuild?”
“Maybe.”
“What decides?”
“Time.”
He laughed bitterly.
“I hate that answer.”
“Good.”
No checklist.
No performative redemption.
No six-month sentence that converts guilt into entitlement.
Time.
Consistency.
People watching less because they need to.
That was harder.
Before leaving, Marcus asked about Ruby.
“She still hate me?”
“She is four.”
“Does she remember?”
“Yes.”
His face fell.
Good.
Memory is not cruelty.
It is simply consequence.
“She also remembers you brought her a pony balloon once.”
He almost smiled.
People are more than the worst thing they did.
May you like
That does not erase the worst thing.
It just keeps history from becoming mythology.
