Page 74 of Money Reigns
He’s wrong.
Olivia is different.
And I’mnotletting her go.
***
This building is both my legacy and my curse.
It’s like my soul stayed behind when his left.
The Parker Building stands half complete. Still with exposed wires like grief left too long untouched. I don’t know why I came here tonight. Maybe to think. Maybe to bleed without anyone noticing.
Renovation halted six months ago.
But I need it done. Complete.Clean.
For me.
For Noah.
I stand in the middle of the room, the same place he and I used to sneak away with my brothers when we were kids, pretending we’d rule the world from up here one day.
He was the good one.
Better than me in every way.
Now look at us.
One’s buried.
The other’s too fucked up to move forward.
The air smells like stale paint and cold regrets.
I shut my eyes and she flashes to mind.
Olivia.She found the solution no one else did.
My salvation that may get this place clean. Finally complete.
Wes thinks she’s step one in another goddamn plan.
He thinks I’ll break her like all the others.
He’s wrong.
I walk toward the massive floor-to-ceiling windows that overlook the city.
The skyline winks in the distance, sharp and golden. Below it, the world goes on, unaware that I’m up here, trying not to fall apart.
My gaze trails down.
A hammer.
Discarded. Left when production of my rebuilding halted.
I grip it.
