Chapter 24 - What Derek Couldn't BreakDerek Sloane entered his attorney's office expecting a strategy.
He wanted to know how to fight the accusations.
How to recover his reputation.
How to make Vivian and Ethan regret challenging him.
His lawyer, Nathan Brooks, listened.
Then placed the relevant records on the table.
The surveillance footage.
The customer incident entry.
The request to delete the recording.
The altered Ferrari documentation.
Employee statements.
And communications involving Gideon.
Nathan looked at him.
“Derek, we need to stop treating this as a public-relations problem.”
Derek folded his arms.
“What else is it?”
“A serious legal and professional problem.”
“I didn't steal a car.”
“That isn't the only issue under examination.”
Derek looked away.
Nathan continued.
“Your actions toward Ethan are documented. The investigation also raises questions about your involvement in inventory and service records.”
Derek became defensive.
“Gideon approved everything.”
“Approval by another person does not automatically remove your own responsibility.”
“He was the CFO.”
“And you were the showroom manager.”
Derek stared at the desk.
For the first time, he was forced to separate his role from the people around him.
He had approved operational records.
Pressured employees.
Participated in questionable explanations.
And destroyed a customer's property because he assumed the customer was powerless.
Nathan leaned forward.
“Why did you break the card?”
Derek looked up.
“What?”
“Why did you do it?”
“Because I thought it was fake.”
Nathan waited.
Derek shifted.
“I wanted him out of the showroom.”
“Why?”
“He was wasting our time.”
“Did he threaten anyone?”
“No.”
“Did he attempt to steal anything?”
“No.”
“Did he refuse to follow instructions?”
“He said he wanted to buy the Ferrari.”
Nathan remained silent.
Derek felt anger rise.
“Look, people like that come into luxury dealerships all the time. They want photographs, attention, a fantasy they can't afford.”
Nathan studied him.
“People like what?”
Derek stopped.
For a moment, he heard how his own words sounded.
People like that.
People who wore old coats.
People whose shoes were scuffed.
People he believed had no power.
Nathan closed the folder.
“The card wasn't the reason you humiliated him, was it?”
Derek looked down.
He had spent months refusing to examine that question.
Now he couldn't avoid it.
“No,” he whispered.
Nathan waited.
Derek continued.
“I wanted him to feel small.”
There was no dramatic music.
No applause.
No sudden redemption.
Just a confession spoken in a quiet office.
And a man hearing himself describe cruelty without the protection of a joke.
Nathan made a note.
“That's something you need to understand. But we're also going to address the actual records and evidence.”
Derek nodded.
The legal process would continue.
Some allegations might lead to criminal charges.
Others to civil claims, restitution, or professional consequences.
His attorney could advise him.
But he could not make the evidence disappear.
Meanwhile, Ethan attended a meeting concerning the Ferrari's disputed title and financing interests.
The relevant parties were working toward a court-supervised or otherwise properly authorized resolution that would permit an eventual sale with accurate disclosures.
Lydia explained the available options.
Ethan listened.
Then asked, “What happens if the car isn't worth repairing?”
“Then you need to accept that possibility before purchasing it.”
He nodded.
“And if I buy it with the full condition history disclosed?”
“That can be considered once ownership and financing issues are resolved. You'll need an independent appraisal and specialist inspection.”
Ethan smiled faintly.
“Dad would love all this paperwork.”
Lydia laughed.
“Perhaps he would.”
He looked toward the vehicle photographs.
The red Ferrari remained beautiful.
But its beauty no longer seemed like the most important thing about it.
It had become a symbol of what happened when people valued appearances above truth.
Ethan wondered whether bringing it into his father's garage might give it a different meaning.
Not as a trophy.
Not as revenge.
As a repair undertaken honestly.
That evening, Ethan visited Helen.
She was sitting on the porch with Rachel.
The late-March air was cool.
Ethan took a chair beside them.
Rachel looked at his face.
“Long day?”
“Yes.”
“Bad?”
“Complicated.”
Helen smiled.
“Those are becoming your favorite kind.”
Ethan laughed.
Then he told them about the Ferrari.
The unresolved condition questions.
The possibility of a lawful sale.
The significant cost of proper repairs.
Rachel listened.
Then asked, “Are you really going to buy the thing that caused all this?”
Ethan thought carefully.
“Maybe.”
“Why?”
He looked toward the garage.
“Because someone has to decide whether it can be made right.”
Helen studied him.
“That sounds like your father.”
Ethan smiled.
“I hope so.”
Then she added something he wasn't expecting.
“Just remember, Ethan. Some things can be fixed. Some things have to be accepted. And some things aren't yours to carry.”
He looked at her.
“What do you mean?”
“Your father's death. Miranda leaving. Derek being cruel. None of those things can be repaired by buying a Ferrari.”
Ethan lowered his eyes.
“I know.”
Helen touched his hand.
“Then if you buy it, let it be because you want to build something good. Not because you're trying to win an argument with people who never deserved your time.”
Ethan nodded.
He sat with his family as the sky darkened.
For the first time in months, he didn't feel an urgent need to prove anything.
Not to Miranda.
Not to Derek.
May you like
Not even to himself.
And that was something no amount of money could have purchased.
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