Chapter 86: Brother’s talk

The neat, perfectly decorated rooms felt toxic in their cleanliness. There were no brightly colored toys scattered across the

floors, no muddy fingerprints on the walls, no chaotic mess of a real family, just an expensive, beautifully staged, empty house.

She walked upstairs to their master bedroom, not bothering to turn on the light. She kicked off her painful designer heels, letting them drop to the carpet, and sat heavily on the edge of the mattress.

Her hands were still shaking so badly she could barely take her earrings out. Holding baby Chloe earlier that afternoon had awakened a deep, primal rush of maternal longing, a powerful wave of love and grief that she had absolutely nowhere to direct.

It was an overwhelming, suffocating feeling, and keeping it bottled up inside her chest felt like it was destroying her from the inside out, piece by piece.

Downstairs, she heard the heavy thud of the front door finally closing, followed by Mark’s familiar, slow footsteps coming up the carpeted stairs. Katherine braced herself, stiffening her shoulders for another round of shouting, or perhaps a shallow, forced apology that neither of them would truly believe.

Instead, the footsteps walked right past their bedroom door without pausing. Katherine listened closely, her breath caught in her throat. A moment later, she heard the distinct, sharp click of the guest room door shutting firmly down the hall.

She sat completely still, staring at the blank wall in the dark. They were not just failing to start a family anymore, they were actively, systematically ruining the marriage they already had.

She slowly lay back on the bed, still dressed in her formal christening gown, and finally let herself cry heavily into her pillow in the quiet, empty room.

*****

The private hangar at the airport was exceptionally quiet, with the distant whine of the private jet’s engines warming up on the tarmac.

Clancy stood by the floor to ceiling glass windows of the executive lounge, watching the crew finish their final checks. He had on a sleek blazer, ready for the warmer climate waiting for him back in Spain.

He looked at the gift for his niece which he held tightly in his palms. Julian had called him to wait a bit at the hangar to sign for some important documents concerning his niece.

The heavy glass doors slid open, and Julian walked in, looking slightly rumpled but carrying a thick manila envelope under his arm and he immediately placed his envelope back in his pocket.

"I caught you just in time," Julian said, catching his breath as he walked over to join his older brother by the glass. ℴ

"Dad told me your walk went well" he said and Clancy nodded. "Honestly, I half expected to find the estate grounds cordoned off as a crime scene. You are both prideful men, but I am glad you both got over it" He said with honesty.

Clancy offered a faint, genuine smile, a rarity for him in London. "We did not beat each other over the head with his golf club, if that is what you mean. We actually talked." Clancy joked.

"Miracles do happen," Julian murmured, shaking his head. He grew quiet for a moment, looking out through the glass at the aircraft.

"He is getting older, Clancy. He won’t admit it, but having you here this weekend meant a lot to him. And it meant a lot to me, too. For a long time, it felt like you had erased all of us from your ledger." Julian said.

"I was erasing myself," Clancy said quietly, letting his honesty take over. "I thought that if I did not look back at what used to be by facing you all, I would not have to face what I ruined. But being with the kids in Spain, it changes your perspective on what you leave behind."

Julian nodded, handing over the manila envelope.

"Speaking of leaving things behind, the lawyers finalized the baptismal registry and the standard godfather declarations this morning.

You just need to sign the duplicate copies for the family archive before you wheel up. Because we do not even know when we will be seeing you next, " he said.

"I will always be available for my goddaughter," Clancy said and took the envelope, but instead of signing the papers immediately, he drew a smaller, wax-sealed parchment envelope from his inside breast pocket of his jacket and slid it across the table toward Julian.

Julian looked down at it, frowning. "What is this? A card?" Julian asked as he inspected the envelope. "Open it," Clancy instructed smoothly.

Julian broke the seal and pulled out a single sheet of heavy bond paper, embossed with the gold seal of Clancy’s primary holding firm. As his eyes scanned the text, his brow furrowed, and then his entire face went pale.

He looked up at Clancy, his mouth slightly open.

"C- Clancy, what is this? Is this some sort of joke?" Julian asked, his voice cracking slightly. "I do not joke about trust funds, or my niece, Julian," Clancy replied evenly.

"A prime commercial estate in the heart of Mayfair? And a five percent non-voting equity share in the Primrose Hotel Group?" Julian stammered, his fingers trembling slightly against the paper.

"Clancy, this is worth... tens of millions. She is an infant. She can not even hold her own bottle, let alone a real estate portfolio." He stuttered out.

"It is structured into a blind growth trust," Clancy explained, his tone dropping into that authoritative yet calm register he used for major acquisitions.

"The commercial properties generate an immediate, insulated revenue stream that automatically reinvests. By the time she turns twenty-one, she will have complete financial independence from the main family branch. She will not ever have to answer to anyone else in order to fund her life or her ambitions." he explained.

Julian stared at the document, a wave of profound emotion washing over his face. "This is too much, Clancy. A godfather buys a silver rattle or a savings bond. Not an empire." He said with overwhelming emotions.