Chapter 26 - Rebecca Chose Her Name
Rebecca legally changed her name.
Not to Whitmore.
Not back to Vale.
Rebecca Hale.
Her biological father’s surname.
Adrian attended the hearing by video from Seattle.
Their relationship had transformed painfully into something else.
Siblings.
At first awkward.
Then honest.
They spoke monthly.
No pretending their romantic past had not happened.
No allowing it to define the future.
Rebecca started a nonprofit for children harmed by abusive guardianships.
Marcus funded it personally but refused naming rights.
Catherine accused Rebecca of betraying her.
Rebecca answered, “Choosing my father’s name is not rejecting you. It is rejecting the lie.”
Catherine stopped speaking to her for three months.
Then sent a birthday card.
Small progress.
Marcus stepped down as permanent CEO.
The board appointed Maya Franklin, a respected executive with no family ties.
Marcus remained chair temporarily but with limited voting authority.
News outlets called it surrender.
He called it sleep.
Sarah laughed.
“You like not being CEO.”
“I like eating lunch.”
“Revolutionary.”
Their relationship deepened.
Sarah moved into a guest wing of the mansion but refused the master suite.
“Too haunted.”
“Fair.”
She kept her own apartment too.
Marcus found that healthy and mildly offensive.
“Why keep it?”
“In case you become ridiculous.”
“Define ridiculous.”
“Anyone related to you.”
They laughed.
Then Sarah received an offer to lead a federal corporate-integrity task force in Washington.
Marcus’s first instinct was fear.
Distance.
Change.
Loss.
Old Marcus might have asked her to refuse.
New Marcus said, “You should take it.”
Sarah studied him.
“You mean that?”
“No.”
She laughed.
“But I mean that you should choose.”
She accepted.
They did long distance.
Hard.
May you like
Normal.
No cameras required.
Related Stories
