Chapter 4 - The Boardroom Intrusion
By Friday, Lydia’s condition had stabilized, though she remained heavily sedated under a cocktail of potent antibiotics. Nathan spent his days split between the hospital and the craftsman house, learning the intricate rhythms of his daughters' lives. He learned that Sophie liked her toast cut into triangles; Clara needed a specific 4B pencil to draw properly; and Nora wouldn't sleep unless the closet door was cracked exactly two inches.
But the world he had left behind in Chicago was not content to let him slip away into obscurity.
At 10:00 AM on Monday morning, while Nathan was sitting in the hospital cafeteria waiting for the morning medical rounds, his phone rang from an encrypted line. It was Arthur Pendelton, the senior chairman of the Westfield Systems board—and Nathan's longtime mentor.
"Nathan, what the hell is going on?" Arthur’s voice boomed through the receiver, dripping with corporate urgency. "The European regulatory signatures are sitting on your desk. The German delegation is flying into Chicago tomorrow morning for the final signing ceremony. Your communications team is spinning some story about a 'sudden family matter,' but the market is starting to whisper. The stock dropped two points at the opening bell."
"The stock will recover, Arthur," Nathan said, his voice terrifyingly calm. "I am in Portland. I am handling an actual emergency."
"Lydia Holt?" Arthur scoffed, having known Nathan during his younger years. "Nathan, that woman walked out on you seven years ago. Whatever she's going through, she has a healthcare system to take care of her. You have thirty-four thousand employees relying on your presence tomorrow. If you don't show up to sign this merger, the board is going to initiate an emergency governance clause. They think you've had a breakdown."
Nathan looked through the glass partition of the cafeteria. Outside in the hallway, Sophie and Clara were sitting on the bench, color-charging a new drawing while a nurse smiled at them.
"Let them initiate whatever they want," Nathan said smoothly. "If the board wants my resignation, they can have it by noon. But I am not leaving Portland."
"Are you insane?!" Arthur shouted. "You built this empire! You sacrificed everything for it!"
"That’s exactly the problem, Arthur," Nathan said, his voice dropping to a dangerous, steady whisper. "I sacrificed things I didn't even know I owned. I have three six-year-old daughters sitting outside an ICU room right now who don't know what a father is because I was too busy making you and the shareholders rich. I'm done sacrificing."
He hung up the phone before Arthur could reply.
Two hours later, the drama escalated. Nathan's assistant text-warned him that a corporate vehicle had been dispatched from the Portland satellite office. Nathan walked down to the hospital lobby just in time to see two executives from his regional office walking through the sliding doors, carrying a sleek leather briefcase containing the physical merger contracts.
"Mr. Vane," the lead executive said, looking uncomfortable under the gaze of the hospital security guards. "Mr. Pendelton ordered us to bring these to you directly. He said if you won't come to the signing, the signing comes to you. We just need your biometric signature on the tablet, sir. It will take ten seconds."
Nathan looked at the briefcase. Then he looked up as the elevator doors opened behind the executives. Sophie, Clara, and Nora stepped out, accompanied by a child life specialist. When they saw Nathan surrounded by men in dark corporate suits, they froze, their faces instantly draining of color. To them, men in suits meant the cold, structural world that kept their father away.
Nathan walked right past the executives, ignoring the outstretched pen. He knelt down in front of his daughters, blocking the corporate world from their sight.
"Are those the people from your busy place?" Nora asked, her small voice echoing in the marble lobby. "Are they going to take you back to the sky?"
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Nathan reached out, pulling all three of them against his chest. He looked over his shoulder at the stunned executives.
"Take those papers back to Chicago," Nathan told them, his eyes flashing with an unyielding steel. "Tell Arthur that Westfield Systems can wait. My family cannot."
