The Insanity of a Wallflower

The Fall- XXXII

"My uncle didn't find me. I found him." he titled his head slightly, as if stretching his neck, while his gaze skimmed along my face. "Do you want to know why my uncle never filed the paperwork?" he asked softly, like this was something nonchalant, trivial. I shook my head. "Because he thought my father's chemo-racked brain was wrong. There was no legal proof I was his son, and frankly he didn't care. After my father passed away, my uncle inherited the estate and share holds. The thing is, he didn't do it for the money. He was rich on his own, and owned smaller portions of the shares and my grandfather already paid for Harvard and a few investments into Graydon Gates. No. He left me there, because the reality was he just didn't care."

My teeth ground tighter as I watched him. "Then why did you go to that bastard?"

"Because Alys, he made a fatal mistake in his game. See, he is not the legal holder of that estate and the share holds, yet he signed his name. His name, not mine. All those signatures are worthless. Without thinking twice about it, he invested millions of dollars more into Graydon Gates to help it grow, and sold off other share holds to bring in different investments for his business. He used what has always been his family's money- his money. He didn't think twice about it. But legally, the inheritance is mine. And if it ever was revealed that all those sales and investments of that money were null and worthless- it would collapse multiple business empires."

My eyes widened as I listened to Hayden. "That's why your uncle left Graydon Gates and went to work for the State? He realized the empire he helped create was made on paper bricks, and so he left it before it fell."

"Yes." Hayden said evenly, "I ran away from Tucker's body and Mr. Russell and all those cops and found my way right to my uncle. He knew who I was the moment I walked through his doors and was ready to have me thrown back out- a restraining-order already being pulled out to be written up- but when I dropped the paperwork in his lap... he realized what he had done."

I watched those stale eyes... finally it hit me. "Dear god... you knew. You knew all those years since you and Randal found the paperwork that you had the rights to a better life?!"

He didn't react, didn't move, didn't even deny it. "Hayden!" I said strained again, "You knew all along! Why didn't you threaten him sooner? Why didn't you take back what was yours?!"

"Because Alys," he said softly, "I didn't want it. I wanted nothing to do with the name Donovan. And though I bare it now... I didn't take it back from my uncle."

"What do you mean?"

"I let him keep it all." Hayden said staley. "Every last penny. On the day I graduated, I said I'd sign it all over to him. I would make the contracts he made finally legal. I accepted the last name Donavan as my birthright, but I would not be his family. I would use the name to legally transfer the deeds to him and from then on we would lead separate lives. But only on one condition. He had to help me. I wanted him to represent me during the trial and I wanted to show the world what the Russells, the State, had been doing- even if I was sent to prison afterwards.  But- he didn't. Instead he called a friend from the State. The charges against me were magically no longer perused. The Russells were provided a sum of money to "agree" to certain details of exactly what had happened, the local police from the scene commanded to drop the case... and Tucker was buried in the State's cemetery in a quiet ceremony nobody either knew about or cared about."

I could sense how much self-hatred and repulsion were behind those last words. Tucker deserved better. And the Russell family didn't. They had abused Hayden and the others but were not perused by the law, as was Hayden's hope, but given money... bribed and satisfied. The worst thing was, I knew why Mark had done all those things.