Claudia shoved the barefoot child through the open terrace doors into the snow and threw the gift after him
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Chapter 14 / 17
Chapter 14
Mark rebuilt slowly.
Different work.
Lower rank.
No private authority over younger family members.
Some called it disgrace.
I called it education.
He learned to listen to men who once reported to him.
Learned that command is not identity.
Learned to leave Noah’s name out of every discussion of succession.
That mattered most.
He had started calling Noah “the next Bellacorte.”
I banned the phrase.
No next anything.
Noah could become whatever he chose.
Including nothing to do with us.
May you like
Old men hated uncertainty.
I began enjoying it.
