I stand outside the high-rise that once belonged to my father. I fought for it for years, to pry it from Aldus’s grasp, and now I’m about to enter it for the last time. To hand it over to him once and for all. And I don’t even regret it. If anything, it’s a relief.

I’m wearing a suit and tie. It’s been so long since I’ve dressed like this that it feels like wearing thick armor into battle. I reach the lobby and tell the receptionist I have a meeting with Aldus. He looks skeptical, but when I give my name, he waves me forward. “I’ve unlocked the top floor, just hit the button when you’re in.”

I nod.

The ride up feels like it takes forever. No amount of mental preparation could get me ready for this. I have to convince him that I’m doing this out of resignation and exhaustion. He can’t so much as suspect that I have a son.

When the elevator reaches the top floor, the doors open.

The top floor is decked out in modern furniture. It’s a lot of black, whites, and greys, with an occasional pop of pastel color for highlight.

I realize that it’s Aldus’s living quarters, not an office.

It feels like I’ve just walked into his house--the lion’s den. Yet he’s nowhere to be seen.

I turn the corner, and I see a huge room, sparsely furnished, with floor-to-ceiling windows showing the entire Seattle skyline. The Space Needle is clearly visible front and center.

I walk through the large living room, wondering if Aldus is even here, or if he just had me come all the way down to Seattle to stand me up.

“Aldus,” I say. “Come out.”

I reach the end of the living room, and I see him sitting at a big desk, his face partially obscured by three huge screens.

“Oh,” he says. “You’re here?”

“You knew I was coming.”

He stands up, walking over to me.

This is the moment where two normal people would shake hands. Instead, we just stare each other down with raw hatred. We stare each other down for a good 10 seconds, and finally Aldus points to my briefcase. “This is the contract?”

I hand it over to him. “Yes.”

“I’ll have to have my lawyers look it over.”

“Fine,” I say.

He sits down at his desk again and picks up his phone. “I need you at my penthouse to look over a contract.”

“Sit down, Jack,” he says, gesturing toward a couch against the wall.

He presses a button, and his monitors slide down into the desk. Just the kind of useless fancy bullshit I’d expect him to waste our father’s money on. His big desk is between the two of us. It’s a physical manifestation of how estranged we are.

“I need to know why you want to give up,” he says.

“You’ve been following me,” I say. “You must know.”

He raises an eyebrow at me. “One hundred thousand dollars is not a lot of money. After taxes, it’s a middle-manager’s salary.”

I shrug. “A middle-manager’s salary is a big step up from a lumberjack’s, or a soldier’s. If I can keep winning like this, it will add up.”

“Your lawyers aren’t exactly expensive, Jack,” he says. “You could afford to keep them on me indefinitely.”

“And then what?” I ask. “We both know they were never going to win.”

“And we also both know it costs me at least one hundred times more to defend against them than it does for you to attack me.”

“That’s why I kept paying,” I say. “Just to piss you off.”

“Then why drop it?” he asks. “Why not keep fighting?”

I lean forward on the couch, digging my elbows into my legs. “This fight...it keeps us connected. Even though it hurts you, it’s a link between the two of us. If we both sign this contract, we cut all ties. You’ll never acknowledge that we share a blood tie, so this will effectively take you out of my life. For good. That’s all I want.”

Aldus laughs. He unbuttons his jacket, and then he pulls a chain on his neck. The ring falls down and lies against his shirt.

I have to fake it now. I’m not supposed to know he has the ring.

I leap off of the couch. “You fucking piece of shit! I knew it!”

“It’s all mine,” he says. “We sign the contract, and I became sole heir. This has always rightfully been mine, but the contract will seal it.”

I ball up my fists, staring him down with real hatred. I don’t even have to fake it at this point.

“This is why I want you out of my life. I realized over these last few years…”

I take deep breaths to calm myself. “That anything I do to hurt you will just hurt me more. You’re broken, Aldus, you thrive on hatred, but I’m different.”

“Of course we’re different,” he says. “We’re not real family. Why would we be anything alike? Your mother was weak.”

More rage boils up within me. He’s trying to taunt me. Deep down, part of him doesn’t want to sign the contract. Even though it will do nothing but benefit him, he’d rather I continue to suffer. If I go off the handle and refuse to sign, it won’t really bother him.

There’s a beep from Aldus’s desk. “The lawyers are here. You can wait here.”

He disappears, and I wait in silence for two or three hours.

When he finally comes back, he’s holding a freshly printed contract. “We had to make surprisingly few changes. The changes are highlighted in yellow.”

He slaps the contract down on his desk. “Sit, I’ve already signed.”

He takes my place on the couch, and I sit in his chair. I look over the changes, most of them are just small modifications to the phrasing, but one catches my eye. It’s an entirely new paragraph.

I read through it, and I think I know what it means, but I just look up at him instead. “What is this shit?”

“In case you ever have kids,” he says. “It just states that your children cannot take up your lost cause again. The contract you handed me only prevented you from doing so. I don’t need your money-grubbing kids coming after me when I’m old.”

Rumor has it that Aldus can’t have kids. He made a big stink about his “heirs” through the years, and after divorcing woman after woman, people started speculating that there would never be an heir.

I shrug. “I don’t plan on having kids, so fuck it.”

I sign the contract.

I’ve cut Noah out from his grandpa’s legacy, but I can offer him more than that. Elisabeth and I can offer him a lot more, together. I’m doing him a favor by signing this, he’ll never have to know his evil fucking uncle.

Aldus laughs, snaps his fingers, and a lawyer walks in. The lawyer takes the contract, nods to Aldus, and walks out.

“Before you leave,” Aldus says, “I just want you to know--between you and me--that I did not intentionally kill our father.”

I stand up, and take three big steps toward him, until I’m towering over him. He’s finally admitting that he did it, now that it’s too late for me to do a thing about it.

“Stand up,” I say.

“Why? You can go now. Hit the road, Jack.”

“Stand. Up.”

He stands up, and his cool exterior finally starts to betray how nervous he is. He’s trembling, slightly, but still trembling.

“I’m not going to punch you in the face,” I say.

He laughs nervously.

“You murdered our father, and my mother. A punch in the face is the least you deserve, contract or not.”

“I thought you said that I thrived on hatred? Wouldn’t punching me in the face just make me stronger, by your logic?”

“Yes,” I say, stepping right up into him, just inches away. “That’s why I’m not going to punch you in the face.”

I slam my fist into his gut, as hard as I can. Punching as if I was trying to break through a concrete wall.

He crumples to the ground, wheezing and gasping for air. Finally he coughs, and vomit spills down his face, all over his sleek marble floors.

“We’re done,” I say. “I never want to see you again.”

I step over him and walk out of the room.

* * *

I fly out late that night, and land in Anchorage early the following morning.

I call Elisabeth as soon as I land.

“I found Jane,” she says.

“Oh,” I say, “I was going to tell you…”

“I know,” she says. “I found your note, too.”

“How is she doing?”

“She’s okay,” Elisabeth says. “She went to a meeting earlier, now she’s with Noah. I think she’ll be okay.”

“Good,” I say. “The thing with Aldus...it’s done. We’re safe.”

“Thank God. Are you coming here?”

“Yeah,” I say. “Of course.”

I don’t even have a hotel anymore. We’re in a bit of an awkward position now, Elisabeth and I. Having Noah in the picture makes getting married seem like the obvious answer, but I’ve only really known her for a week or so. I could just move in with her, if she’ll have me.

We can talk about that later, though, for now I just want to rest. The feeling of relief is immense. Aldus is out of my life, and he has no reason to track me going forward. I’ve handed everything over to him that he wants, and now I can start a life totally free of him.

When I get to Elisabeth’s place, she hugs me, and then I kiss her for all I’m worth.

She smiles wide at me, and takes me into her arms. Her breasts press against me, and I feel my cock go hard as diamonds in an instant.

“Where’s Noah?” I ask.

“Jane took him out to go sledding,” Elisabeth says. “She says she needed the fresh air.”

“You wanna go join them?” I ask.

“Yeah,” she says. “But first…”

She grabs hold of my cock through my jeans, and I lick my lips. I grab hold of her, and pull her into me.