Chapter 12 - The Son I Was Still Angry With
I should have called the police and stayed home.
Instead I drove.
Because motherhood is not the same thing as forgiveness.
I was still furious with Mark.
I also could not leave him in a parking garage believing someone might hurt him.
Dana called 911 while Lucas rode with me.
We found Mark on level four crouched between two cars.
His lip was split.
His suit jacket was torn.
Lucas jumped out.
“What happened?”
Mark flinched from him.
“Don’t touch me.”
I knelt beside him.
“Who did this?”
“I don’t know.”
“That’s a lie.”
He looked at me.
For the first time since Robert died, my oldest son looked like a frightened child.
“Northstar has a security contractor.”
“Name?”
“Derek Voss.”
Lucas cursed.
Police sirens echoed below.
Mark grabbed my wrist.
“Mom, they want the drive.”
“How do they know I have it?”
“Because I told Reese.”
I pulled my hand away.
He closed his eyes.
“I know.”
“No, you don’t.”
“I was trying to save myself.”
“That seems to be your favorite sentence.”
He winced.
Good.
I wanted it to hurt.
At the station, Mark gave a statement.
Then Dana made him another offer.
“Tell us everything now, or I walk out.”
Mark looked at me.
“You too?”
“Yes.”
He stared at the floor.
Then he began.
Northstar had approached him two years earlier.
They promised him the CEO position after acquisition.
They promised Lucas a regional division.
Mark fed them internal financials.
When Robert discovered it, he moved the company’s valuable assets.
Then Mark panicked.
He authorized fees.
He signed loans.
He helped create the appearance of a deeper collapse so Northstar could justify a low purchase price.
“You helped bury your father’s company,” I said.
Mark’s eyes filled.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I thought I deserved it.”
The honesty was uglier than any excuse.
Then he said something worse.
“Dad found out three months before he died.”
“We know.”
“No. You don’t.”
He looked at Dana.
“He gave me one chance to confess publicly.”
“And?”
“I refused.”
“What did he say?”
Mark swallowed.
“He said then I’d have to answer to Mom.”
The room went quiet.
Mark reached into his pocket and placed a key card on the table.
“What is that?” I asked.
“Northstar’s document room.”
Dana stared at him.
“You still have access?”
“For maybe another day.”
He looked directly at me.
“There’s one file Dad never found.”
“What file?”
May you like
Mark’s face crumpled.
“The one proving his stroke may not have been as sudden as we thought.”
