Chapter 10

My father and Brandon carried my ashes back to the coast. They returned me to the shoreline I had never stopped yearning for. When Spring came, Brandon scattered my ashes into the bluest part of the ocean. With the crash of waves against the rocks and the salty wind filling the air, my soul felt cradled by the water, finally above to breathe again. Later, when overseas markets turned hostile, my father and Brandon staged a false bankruptcy and quietly withdrew with their core team. The Lambert Corporation, with only a few capable executives, couldn't last past two years and had most of its business devoured by competitors. Carson shut himself away in the villa, clutching the surfboard I'd left behind, mumbling "I'm sorry" over and over. Orlando was so furious that he suffered a stroke and was left paralyzed. The company's board of directors fell into chaos. Within half a year, their headquarters were taken over by competitors. When the new boss stormed the master bedroom with h