Chapter 32 - julian saw what i had built

Julian came to the new family assistance center.
He had never seen it before.
Children were studying there.
Families were meeting financial counselors.
Retired employees were receiving assistance.
The old company logo remained on the wall.
But beneath it was a new sentence:
No family should become collateral for someone else's ambition.
Julian stopped when he read it.
“That would have helped us.”
I looked at him.
“Yes.”
He nodded.
“I used to think money made people powerful.”
“And now?”
“Money shows you what people do when they think nobody can stop them.”
I smiled faintly.
“That sounds like something you've learned the hard way.”
“I have.”
We walked through the building.
A little boy ran past us.
Julian watched him.
“Leo was that age once.”
“Yes.”
“I missed so much.”
I didn't answer.
He wasn't asking me to comfort him.
He was finally learning to sit with regret without demanding someone else make it disappear.
May you like
That mattered.
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