Chapter 168
Marcus’s POV
Marcus turned toward the doorway expecting to see Mimi or maybe one of the board members who’d been calling to check on the babies. What he didn’t expect was to see his father standing there looking like he’d aged a decade in the past week.
Richard Thorne had always been an imposing figure. Tall, broad-shouldered, with silver hair and the kind of presence that commanded attention in any room. But the man standing in the NICU doorway looked diminished somehow. Smaller. His shoulders were hunched, his face was drawn, and there was something broken in his eyes that Marcus had never seen before.
Behind Richard stood two people Marcus recognized as high-powered divorce attorneys from one of Manhattan’s most prestigious firms.
“Dad,” Marcus said, the word feeling strange in his mouth. They hadn’t spoken since before the shareholder meeting. Hadn’t really had a meaningful conversation in years if Marcus was being honest. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to meet my grandchildren.” Richard’s voice was rough, like he’d been crying or maybe just not sleeping. “If you’ll let me.”
Marcus looked at Elara who nodded slightly, giving permission. “They’re right here. Alexander and Catherine.”
Richard moved slowly into the room, his eyes fixed on the incubators. When he reached Baby A’s isolette he stopped and just stared, his hand pressed against the plastic like Marcus had done three days ago.
“He looks like you did,” Richard said quietly. “When you were born. Same nose, same chin. Your mother said you came out ready to fight the whole world.”
“Alexander,” Marcus said. “We’re calling him Alex.”
“And the girl?”
“Catherine. Cath Rose. After Mom and Grandma.”
Richard’s face crumpled slightly at the mention of Marcus’s mother but he collected himself quickly. He moved to Baby B’s incubator and looked down at the tiny girl hooked up to monitors and machines.
“He had heart surgery,” Marcus explained when his father didn’t speak. “Twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome The doctors say he’s going to be fine but it was touch and go for a while.”
“Catherine,” Richard repeated softly. “You named her after your mother.”
“Elara suggested it. We both thought Mom would have liked that.”
Richard finally looked away from the babies and met Marcus’s eyes. “I’m sorry. I know that’s inadequate and probably too late but I need to say it anyway. I’m sorry for everything. For marrying Penelope, for bringing her into our lives, for being so blind that I couldn’t see what she was doing to you and to the company.”
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Chapter 168
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Marcus had imagined this conversation before. Had practiced in his head what he’d say if his father ever acknowledged the damage Penelope had caused. But now that it was happening, all the carefully prepared speeches felt hollow.
“You didn’t know,” Marcus said. “None of us knew what she was capable of.”
“I should have known. I was married to her for over a decade. I should have seen something, noticed something that indicated she was capable of murder and fraud.” Richard ran a hand through his silver hair. “But I was so lost after your mother died. Penelope was there and she was patient and she made me feel like maybe I could survive losing Catherine. I didn’t ask the hard questions because I didn’t want to know the answers.”
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“She was good at manipulation. That’s what she does.”
“That doesn’t excuse my blindness. Or my failure as a father.” Richard looked back at the babies. “I checked out after your mother died. Stopped being present in your life, stopped paying attention to anything except my own grief. You were seventeen years old and you’d just lost your mother and instead of being there for you I married the woman who killed her.”
The words hung in the air between them. Marcus felt Elara’s hand find his, squeezing gently.
“I didn’t know she killed Mom when you married her,” Marcus said finally. “Neither of us did. You can’t blame yourself for that.”
“I can blame myself for a lot of other things though. For not supporting you when you took over the company. For letting Penelope poison my opinion of every decision you made. For not seeing that she was trying to destroy everything your grandfather built.” Richard gestured to the lawyers waiting by the door. “That’s why they’re here. I’m divorcing Penelope and I want to make things right with you.”
Marcus felt something shift in his chest. “You’re divorcing her?”
“The paperwork was filed this morning. My lawyers are requesting an emergency annulment based on fraud in the inducement of marriage. Penelope married me under false pretenses while concealing that she’d murdered my first wife. If that’s not grounds for annulment I don’t know what is.”
“She’s going to fight it. Try to get alimony or claim some of your assets.”
“Let her try. I’ve already moved everything into trusts she can’t touch. She’ll get nothing from me except my testimony at her murder trial.” Richard pulled an envelope from his jacket pocket. “But that’s not the only reason I’m here. These are stock transfer documents. I’m giving you my fifteen percent stake in Thorne Dynamics.”
Marcus stared at the envelope. “Dad, you don’t have to-”
“Yes I do. Those shares should have gone to you in the first place. Your grandfather wanted you to have controlling interest in the company and I’ve been holding onto shares that rightfully belong to you. Combined with what you already have, this gives you seventy percent. Clear majority control. Nobody can ever challenge your position again.”
“Why now?
I let my grief and loneliness cloud my judgment about everything.” He held out the envelope. “I can’t undo
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Chapter 168
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the past fifteen years. I can’t bring your mother back or erase the damage Penelope did. But I can give you what’s rightfully yours and try to be a better father going forward. If you’ll let me.”
Marcus took the envelope slowly, feeling the weight of what his father was offering. Not just shares but an apology, an acknowledgment, a chance to rebuild what had been broken.
“I don’t expect forgiveness,” Richard continued. “I know I have years of neglect to make up for. But I’d like to try. I’d like to be a grandfather to Alexander and Catherine. I’d like to be part of your life again, if you’ll have me.”
Marcus looked at his father and saw, maybe for the first time since his mother died, actual remorse. Actual awareness of the pain his choices had caused. It wasn’t enough to erase everything, wasn’t enough to make up for years of distance and disappointment.
But it was a start.
“I’d like that too,” Marcus said quietly. “The kids should know their grandfather. And I think Mom would have wanted us to find our way back to each other eventually.”
Richard’s eyes filled with tears. “She would have loved them. Both of them. Catherine always wanted grandchildren.”
“I wish she could have met them.”
“She’s here. In their names, in the way you’re fighting for them. Your mother was the strongest person I ever knew and I see that same strength in you.” Richard reached out hesitantly and Marcus let him pull him into a hug, brief and awkward but genuine.
When they separated, Richard turned to Elara. “I’m sorry we haven’t met properly. I’m Richard Thorne, Marcus’s father and apparently the worst judge of character in Manhattan.”
Elara smiled despite everything. “Elara. And I think we’ve all made questionable decisions about who to trust lately.”
“Yours turned out better than mine. Marcus is lucky to have you.”
“I’m the lucky one actually. Your son is pretty remarkable when he’s not being an idiot about ex-girlfriends.”
Richard actually laughed, the sound rusty but real. “Catherine used to say the same thing about me. The Thorne men have always been brilliant at business and terrible at reading women.”
The lawyers cleared their throats politely from the doorway, reminding everyone they were still waiting.
“I should go,” Richard said. “Let you get back to your family. But I’d like to visit again if that’s alright. Spend some time getting to know my grandchildren.”
“Anytime,” Marcus said. “They’re going to be here for at least another week before the doctors clear them to go home. You’re welcome whenever you want to come.”
Richard nodded and moved to the incubators one more time, looking at each baby with an expression of wonder and regret. “Welcome to the world, Alexander and Catherine. Your grandmother would have adored
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Chapter 168
you.”
:))
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After his father and the lawyers left, Marcus sank into the chair beside Elara’s and stared at the envelope containing the stock transfer documents.
“Seventy percent,” he said wonderingly. “I own seventy percent of Thorne Dynamics now.”
“How does it feel?”
“Strange. For years I’ve been fighting to prove myself, to convince the board and the shareholders that I deserved my position. And now I have so much control that nobody can challenge me even if they wanted to.” Marcus set the envelope aside. “But honestly? I don’t care about any of that right now. All I care about is sitting in this room with you and our children and knowing we’re all going to be okay.”
Elara leaned her head on his shoulder. “We are going to be okay. All four of us.”
“Dr. Harrison said if they keep improving at this rate, we might be able to take them home in ten days,” Elara said softly.
“Home.” Marcus felt something warm unfurl in his chest. “I can’t wait to get them home. To show them their nursery, to have all of us under one roof.”
“No more hospital beds and fluorescent lights.”
“No more monitors and feeding schedules posted by nurses.”
“Just us. Our family.”
Marcus turned to look at Elara, his wife, his partner, the mother of his children.
“Let’s go home,” he said. “All of us. As a family.”
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