Decade of the Fool

"Are you insane, Lenora? She's your daughter, too!"

We were on the 26th floor.

Panic surged through me as I let go of Nathan and rushed to the window.

I yanked Lily from Lenora’s grasp before she could do something stupid.

Suddenly, Lily’s palm crashed against my face.

"Let me go, you bad man! I want my Mommy and Daddy!

"Why didn’t you just die out there? Why did you make Mommy and Daddy suffer? Lily wants you gone!"

So, she knew who I was.

And those words… no ten-year-old could speak like that unless they'd overheard adults saying it first.

A deep unease settled in my chest.

I discreetly sent a message to my assistant, Morgan Williamson, instructing him to investigate every “accident” that had happened to me over the years abroad.

Just then, Lenora’s phone rang.

She answered, then hung up with a pale, stricken face.

Turning to Nathan, she said tightly, "Duncan is planning to acquire our company…"

They both stared at me, then quickly looked away.

Nathan frowned, baffled.

“We have nothing to do with Duncan. He shouldn’t even know we exist. Why would he suddenly acquire us?”

Panic flared in Lenora’s eyes.

“What if he is who he says he is, Nathan? What if Duncan told the truth?”

“No way!”

Nathan’s voice was steel, his gaze burning with disbelief.

“He’s trash! He couldn’t even figure out the traps we set for him. There’s no way he’s capable of something this big!”

By this point, I saw no reason to keep pretending.

“If you mean the intentional data errors you planted—I knew about those a long time ago.”

And then there was Lenora—easily swayed by a bouquet of flowers from Nathan.

She didn’t even glance at the documents before signing off during the audit.

I had known all of this.

But because they were the two people closest to me, I hesitated. I gave them a chance, hoping they’d come to their senses.

I hadn’t expected mercy to invite betrayal. Instead of remorse, they pushed the knife in further, even hiring someone to kill me.

Staring at the investigation report Morgan had just sent, rage surged through me.

My knuckles turned white as I gripped the phone, trembling with fury.

Exposed, Nathan could no longer maintain his smug composure.

He exploded, his mask ripped away.

“So what if you knew?

“You’ve always been my dog since we were kids, Duncan. You belong on the ground, tail between your legs, begging for scraps. What gives you the right to surpass me?

“I don’t care if the company gets bought out. I’ll still be an executive. You? You’re just a damn security guard. Always beneath me.

“Now get back to your post and guard the damn door!”

Deluded by his version of the truth, Nathan convinced himself he still held the upper hand.

Drunk on petty triumph, he barked orders like a man desperate to feel superior.

Just then, a message lit up on my phone:

[Mr. Brooke, we’ve left for Zenith Horizon.]

Perfect.

[I’ll see you at the company, then.]

Suppressing a smile, I followed behind Lenora and Nathan’s car to the office.

The moment we walked in, Nathan couldn’t wait to show off.

He gathered the staff like a ringmaster before a show.

“This is our new security guard. Everyone, be kind to him.”

Someone whispered under their breath, “What a loser.”

Nathan smirked, encouraged by the insult.

Then he added with mock sympathy, “He’s been hiding abroad for ten years. Poor guy’s not used to normal life. If he messes something up, just be patient with him.”

“Oh… like a stray dog,” someone chuckled.

That venomous voice rang out again.

An older employee named Fred Dursley stepped forward to speak on my behalf.

“Mr. Grant, Zenith Horizon was built from the ground up by Mr. Brooke. How can you reduce him to just a security guard?”

It wasn’t that the job itself was degrading, but the contrast between that and being the company’s founder was staggering.

The humiliation was clear as day.

Nathan, unbothered, stood firm.

“I have Ms. Lenora’s full approval. If you’ve got a problem, take it up with her.”

“As for you… You’re fired. Pack up and leave.”

“You—!”

Fred pointed at him, shaking with fury, too stunned to form words.

Naturally, I couldn’t let someone who stood by me suffer. I spoke up in his place.

"Burn bridges today, and you’ll drown tomorrow."

My voice cut like ice.

"And this company? It’s mine. You’re in no position to bark orders.”

Once Morgan arrived with the acquisition contract, Nathan’s little kingdom would crumble.

In the meantime, he seemed to insist on digging himself into a deeper hole.

With a cold sneer, he grabbed someone’s breakfast, flung it to the ground, and crushed it under his shoe.

“If you lick up this pile of garbage clean,” he said, “I’ll let him go. How about that?”

“Mr. Brooke!”

The shocked cry was swiftly drowned out by another voice that cracked through the room like thunder:

“Hell no! Are you blind, you miserable wretch? How dare you insult Mr. Brooke! You must have a death wish!”