Chapter 3 - The Desperate Discovery
Two months passed. Christmas came and went without a single phone call from my parents. They were waiting for me to apologize. They genuinely believed I would come crawling back, begging for forgiveness for ruining Thanksgiving.
I did not call. I spent the holidays on a private beach in Hawaii with Emily, Nathan, and Emily wonderful, supportive parents.
In late January, the silence was finally broken.
My phone started blowing up on a Tuesday morning. I had twelve missed calls from my mother, five from my father, and a frantic text message from Amanda.
I ignored all of them until I checked my email. An alert from a major financial news publication popped up on my screen. The headline read: Tech Innovator Brian Under Thirty Five Tech Titans Who Changed The Game. The article featured a full page photo of me, detailing the massive acquisition of my software company and my estimated net worth.
The secret was out.
That evening, I finally answered a call from my mother.
"Brian!" she gasped into the phone, her voice thick with fake affection. "Oh my goodness, sweetheart! We just saw the article online! Why did you not tell us you were so incredibly successful? We are so proud of you!"
"You never asked," I replied coldly. "You just assumed I was a failure."
"That is not true!" she protested. "We always believed in you! Listen, Brian, we really need to talk. We want to come see your new house. And Jason really needs to speak with you. It is urgent."
"I am busy," I said, preparing to hang up.
"Please, Brian," she begged, dropping the cheerful facade. Her voice cracked with genuine panic. "Jason is in terrible trouble. He is about to lose everything. They are going to take his house. Amanda is threatening to take the kids and leave. He needs a loan."
I stared out the window of my home office, looking at the perfectly manicured grounds of my estate. The golden child had finally fallen off his pedestal.
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"Tell Jason to figure it out himself," I said. "I am just a guy who sells stuff online, remember? I do not understand real bills."
I hung up the phone and blocked her number.
