Chapter 16 - Halloween Without MasksOn Halloween morning, Ethan woke before sunrise.
For the first time since the trophy incident, he was excited about something.
He had decided to dress as an inventor.
Leah helped him decorate a lab coat with cardboard gears and plastic buttons. Daniel found an old pair of safety goggles in the garage.
Ethan wore them crookedly while examining himself in the hallway mirror.
"Do I look like a scientist?"
Daniel smiled.
"You look like someone who might accidentally turn the garage into a spaceship."
Ethan giggled.
"Can we go trick-or-treating?"
"Absolutely."
"Even if you have work?"
"Especially because I don't."
The boy threw his arms around him.
Daniel held him close.
He was slowly discovering how little it took to make Ethan happy.
Not gifts.
Not expensive holidays.
Just promises that were actually kept.
At noon, Olivia Bennett arrived to discuss the practical arrangements for Daniel's separation from Celeste.
Daniel had asked Leah to take Ethan outside while they talked.
Olivia reviewed the proposed temporary financial agreement and arrangements for Celeste to collect personal belongings.
"She's entitled to retrieve her property," Olivia said. "We'll schedule it with representatives present."
Daniel nodded.
"What about the house?"
"Ownership and any marital claims depend on the documents and applicable law. Your premarital property records will matter. Don't assume everything is automatically yours or hers."
Daniel appreciated her precision.
"Could she delay the divorce?"
"Potentially. But divorce negotiations shouldn't control the corporate investigation or Ethan's trust."
Olivia opened another folder.
"There's also something concerning the family communications."
She had obtained copies of the behavioral memorandum and several messages Celeste had sent to relatives.
The messages portrayed Daniel as an absent father whose grief had made him unpredictable.
They described Ethan as emotionally troubled and resentful of his stepmother.
"She's trying to establish a narrative," Olivia said.
Daniel sighed.
"I know."
"Don't respond publicly. Keep records and continue focusing on Ethan."
That afternoon, Ethan carried his Halloween costume into the living room.
He found Daniel looking at an old photograph.
Anna wore a white lab coat.
Ethan, then a toddler, sat on her knee holding a toy wrench.
"Is that Mommy?"
"Yes."
"Was she really a scientist?"
"A very good one."
Ethan climbed beside him.
"Did she ever make mistakes?"
Daniel laughed softly.
"All the time."
"Really?"
"Once she tried to build a watering system for our garden and flooded the entire patio."
Ethan burst into laughter.
"What happened?"
"She laughed harder than anybody."
The boy studied the photograph.
"Celeste says Mommy wasn't perfect."
Daniel looked at him.
"She wasn't."
Ethan's smile faded.
"Then why does everybody love her?"
Daniel thought carefully.
"Because being loved isn't a prize for being perfect."
He placed the photograph between them.
"Your mother was stubborn. Sometimes she worked too hard. Sometimes she got angry. But she loved you, and she tried to make the world better. We can love someone while knowing they weren't perfect."
Ethan touched Anna's face.
"Can I keep this in my room?"
"Of course."
That evening, they walked through their neighborhood under strings of orange lights.
Maya joined them with Jenna.
The children ran from porch to porch.
Daniel and Jenna followed at a comfortable distance.
"He's smiling again," Jenna observed.
Daniel nodded.
"Some days."
"That's something."
They passed a house decorated with paper ghosts.
Maya shouted that she had found a giant candy bowl.
Ethan rushed after her.
Daniel watched them disappear through the open garden gate.
For once, the fear inside him loosened.
Then his phone vibrated.
Priya Nair had sent a brief confidential update.
The investigators had identified a financial relationship between Alder Point Renewal and an investment entity called Harlan Capital Partners.
Daniel stopped walking.
He knew the name.
Victor Harlan had served on the Mercer Learning Systems board for nine years.
His investment firm had helped finance the company's expansion.
He was wealthy, influential, and among the people Daniel trusted most.
Priya's message continued.
We are examining whether this relationship created an undisclosed conflict affecting corporate decisions.
Daniel looked up at the glowing houses.
All this time, he had believed Celeste and Grant were taking advantage of his trust.
Now he wondered whether somebody with far more power had been helping them.
A few steps ahead, Ethan called, "Daddy! Look how much candy I got!"
Daniel put the phone away.
He smiled.
And joined his son.
But later, after Ethan fell asleep with his candy arranged in neat little rows, Daniel opened the financial documents again.
Harlan Capital had participated in several major corporate refinancing negotiations.
Victor had personally encouraged Daniel to delegate more authority to Celeste.
Daniel remembered the advice.
You need to think like a chairman, not a bookkeeper.
May you like
He had been grateful for it.
Now he wondered whether Victor had been giving advice or clearing a path.
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