The Divorced Heiress Is Entering a New Marriage

Chapter 0359

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“Janice,” Senior said. All smug arrogance disappeared from his voice. “What are you doing here?”

“At first I didn’t think I would come,” Janice replied. “After all these years… I didn’t want to see your face ever again for as long as I lived. Better to leave well enough alone. But…. after hearing everything you’ve done. I couldn’t in good coconscious stay quiet anymore.”

Dylan walked around from behind her and approached Logan and I. “Sorry it took so long. She really is that stubborn.”

“You don’t understand, Janice. You took everything and left,” Senior said.

“1 took our son and left,” Janice replied. “You were married, Richard. You had your company, your entire life. You wanted me to be your mistress.”

“I could have taken care of you…”

“I would have rather been alone that stay in that situation. Now that I’ve seen the kind of man you truly

are, I know I was right to raise our son on my

v own.”

“How can you say that?”

“Look around you,” Janice said. “Look at all the people you’ve hurt. They’re all here, right in this room. Well, who knows how many others there are? And you aren’t even listening to them. You are still trying to dodge responsibility. What kind of example would that have set for my child?”

“Our child,” Senior corrected.

“No,” Janice replied. “He stopped being yours long ago.”

“Mr. Hatfield,” Mr. Smith said, moving to his employer’s side. “You should not be entertaining this woman,, nor any of these people. I recommend that we leave at once.”

Senior looked at Janice, then turned around, glancing at every face in the room. Lastly, he looked at Logan.

“What kind of example…” he muttered to himself, and then sighed. “My wife accused me of the same thing, on her deathbed. She said she married me knowing that I was a workaholic, but not that I was a cruel man. I thought she was merely succumbing to the pain of her end. Now I wonder_”

“We were never kind men,” Mr. Hudgens said. “We made decisions that will likely send us to hell when our final judgement comes. We valued money above alrelse, even those dearest to us. But it’s not too late, Richard. I’ve made amends. My family has accepted me again. Yours can too.”

“We should leave, Mr. Hatfield,” Mr. Smith said again, with more emphasis.

“None of

you understand. Without a strong leader, the company that I’ve worked so hard to build from the ground up will be bought, chopped up, and sold off in pleces. Nothing of my legacy will be left.”

“A legacy is more than a business,” I replied. “It’s family and friends. It’s the way the people who cared about you most in the world remember you.”

“It’s your son,” Michael said.

“Both of your sons,” Janice added.

“And your grandson,” I added as well, motioning to Logan.

“You can’t take it with you,” Mr. Hudgens says. “When the end cornen, we’ll be judged at the pearly gates in nothing but our birthday suits. What kind of man do you want to be when that time comes, Richard? An old scrooge who only cared about his wealth and name. Or a father. A grandfather. Perhaps even a great grandfather.”

“But the business…” Senior continued.

I guessed, for a man of his age, it was hard for him to reframe his entire mindset, even when faced with all of the valid reasons why he should. Even with him visibly cracking under the weight of the things he should care about more than wealth and power, he still stubbornly held onto his imagined business legacy.

Logan stepped forward. “You can’t think that I would actually let them tear apart the company. Did you see the profit margins while I was CEO? We were gaining revenue. I was increasing employee satisfaction, despite the many attempts by you and your spineless executives to get in the way of it.”

Logan approached his grandfather. I moved as well, staying near Logan’s side. Part of our agreement today, was that no one would ever have to face this situation alone. Logan and I are partners, in this and in everything else. We face our troubles together now and forever, as a team.

“Let me stay married to the woman I love,” Logan said. Grabbing my hand, he squeezed my fingers. “Put me back in charge of the company. I will save the company you love and the legacy will persevere. Refuse, and you will lose the company, along with whatever reputation you had hoped to maintain from

all this.”

“It would certainly be a start,” Janice said.

“Logan is a good leader,” Mr. Hudgens said, patting Logan on the shoulder. “You should be proud of the man that he is. And Hazel… She is a good woman. She’s a hard–worker herself, a real no–nonsense kind of Individual. If you weren’t blind by her class, you might even like her.”

Senior looked at me, and in his eyes, I could see how truly tired he was.

He was losing this battle. We were winning us over.

“Mr. Hatfield…” Mr. Smith tried to say, but Senior held up a hand, stopping him.

“It’s alright, Mr. Smith. You’ve done fine work for me and you will receive the payment we discussed,” Mr. Hatfield said. “But it’s time I consider taking a different route than the one we discussed.”

“I’m not sure that’s wise, Sir,” Mr. Smith said.

“Perhaps not. But, maybe it’s time I listen to those around me, rather than my own stubbornness. After all, what good is a legacy, if no one wants to claim it?”

Mr. Hatfield looked at Mr. Hudgens, Logan, and I standing in a row.

“I’ve wronged each of you, in my quest for eternal life,” Senior said.

Eternal life? Did he mean his legacy?

“I was hoping to preserve my legacy as much as I can, so that I could live forever, even after I’m gone,” Senior continued.

“Come on, Richard,” Mr. Hudgens said. “There’s no need to be that bombastic. With luck, you’ll still have a few years to focus on setting things right, before the end.”

“I’m afraid I don’t.” Senior said..

The room suddenly went very, very quiet.

“Oh, Richard…” Janice said. After everything he had done to her, she still managed to sound sad for him. Maybe they truly did share a deep connection. Senior might have even loved her at some point in his life.

“I’ve been in this game too long.” Senior said. “When I received my diagnosis, the first thing that crossed

my

mind was all the unfinished business I was leaving behind. The company… my family… everything felt shambles. The only way I could think to save it was to force the pieces to go where I wanted like it was in

them.”

“You can’t force things like that,” Mr. Hudgens said.

“I recognize that now, yes,” Senior replied.

“Wait,” I said, interrupting. “What diagnosis? Are you…?

Senior looked at me, and then at Logan.

“Grandfather?” Logan asked.

“Yes, Logan. I’m afraid it is how it sounds. I have caner, its terminal. I’ve only been given six months to live.”