CHAPTER 2 — The Name He Buried

The name tears through him.
Clara Monroe.
Fourteen years ago.
A diner. A storm. A girl who laughed at his money and made him feel human again.
He remembers everything he tried to forget.
Love.
Pregnancy.
Then silence.
A hospital.
A funeral that may have been a lie.
And Bennett.
“I’m sorry. The baby didn’t make it.”
Grief became anger.
Anger became empire.
But now—
May you like
A boy stands in front of him.
Alive.