Chapter 5 - ISAIAH’S VERSION
Isaiah did not deny anything Arthur said.
But Arthur's version omitted the most important part.
“I didn't leave because he threatened me.”
Naomi frowned.
“Then why?”
Isaiah looked toward the street.
“Your father.”
David Carter had been eighteen months old.
Isaiah's wife, Ruth, had a serious health condition requiring expensive care.
Arthur knew.
Henry Bell knew.
When Isaiah threatened to expose warehouse negligence, Henry offered health insurance continuation and relocation support if Isaiah signed confidentiality.
Naomi looked hurt.
“You took the deal.”
“Yes.”
“Do you regret it?”
“Every week for twenty years.”
Then:
“Less after that.”
Why?
Because Ruth received treatment.
She lived another sixteen years.
David grew up with his mother.
Life is cruel with moral purity.
Sometimes choices arrive with dirty edges.
Naomi asked:
“Did Silas know?”
“No.”
“Why not contact him later?”
Isaiah laughed softly.
“Pride.”
Then shame.
Then years.
Silas became famous.
Isaiah became ordinary.
The distance grew.
“What about the fund?”
Isaiah frowned.
“What fund?”
So he truly didn't know.
Naomi explained.
Thirty-seven million dollars.
His name.
Arts scholarships.
Isaiah stared.
“Silas did that?”
“Yes.”
He looked almost angry.
“He always did like monuments.”
Naomi smiled.
Apparently old friends remain old friends.
Then she explained Malcolm Carter.
Isaiah's expression changed.
“There was a Malcolm.”
“What?”
“My older brother.”
Naomi stared.
“You told us you were only child.”
“I said he wasn't family anymore.”
Malcolm had disappeared from Isaiah's life in the 1980s after stealing money from Ruth's medical account.
Isaiah never forgave him.
Was Malcolm alive?
Isaiah didn't know.
If Helen had documents from a Malcolm Carter claiming estate authority over Isaiah, something much larger was wrong.
Because Isaiah wasn't dead.
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No one could represent his estate while he sat on a porch drinking coffee.
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