Chapter 12 - The Second Beginning
Cole Enterprises survived.
Barely.
Adrian sold corrupt subsidiaries.
He replaced half the board.
He created an independent ethics office.
He converted the Hudson Crown development into mixed-income housing and a rehabilitation center.
Investors initially hated it.
Then public support transformed the project.
Hannah returned to school part-time to finish the social-work degree she had abandoned while caring for her father.
Peter moved into a better facility.
His memory continued fading.
But on good days he recognized Adrian.
One afternoon Adrian visited.
Peter looked at the cane.
“You walking, Richard's boy?”
“I'm trying.”
Peter smiled.
“That's all walking ever is.”
Adrian laughed.
Hannah watched from the doorway.
Later, beside the river, Adrian asked her to move into the mansion.
“No.”
He stared at her.
“No?”
“I hate that mansion.”
“You work there.”
“Exactly. I've seen the plumbing.”
He laughed.
“Then where?”
She looked at the Hudson.
“Somewhere that's ours.”
May you like
Adrian understood.
For the first time, home didn't need to mean inheritance.
