Goodbye, Mr. Regret

Vince snatched Yates's phone and abruptly hung up.

Talking about the movie inevitably brought up that rotten thing Timothy had done.

Eyes red, Vince stared at Yates. "That film... Jessy, she..." His voice caught, words tangled in his throat. He wanted to cry.

Vince's eyes brimmed with tears. "Now I finally understand why Timothy handed you the charging station project that day. The terms were unbelievably generous —he'd put up all the money, I wouldn't have to spend a cent, and I'd get the lion's share of the company. Turns out, he was laying a trap for me from the very start, waiting for me to fall for it. He wanted me to feel indebted to him so that, when Jessy's background was exposed, I'd be left helpless."

"Oh God!" Vince's fist thumped against his chest as if to shake off the thought. “I can't imagine what would've happened if I'd actually taken his bait."

He was grateful that, no matter how slick Timothy's words had been that day, no matter how dazzling the offer, something had always felt off. Vince had refused, even when Timothy made it sound like a golden opportunity.

Yates felt a dull ache in his own heart.

Vince went on, "That day, right after I walked out, Jessy called me for help with getting her movie into theaters. You were putting pressure on Carlisle, and Carlisle reached out to her. That's when she finally told me the truth."

"Yates, can you imagine?"

Carlisle's studio. There were dozens of people there all of them

Timothy, about their family, that she gave up her own career. Timothy never let her meet anyone outside. Every time there was an important event, he'd wire her half a million dollars just to make her stay away. She used that hush

this film. She helped them

time she saw that money come in, every time she spent it on them,

no history of it in our family. Isn't it obvious? All of this, everything she bottled up, all the pain

once. He said the liver doesn't feel pain. By the time you know

his hand fall, bowing his head.

cherished and protected

voice was raw. "I'll never forgive Timothy. Not

drew a shaky breath, eyes downcast. "She went through so much, but when she told me about it, she made it sound like nothing. God knows how many sleepless nights she spent alone, quietly digesting all the pain. She never complained, never wanted

anyone. Even when Timothy

her with me,

was suffering, but she was always thinking of

Vince, his sister was the finest, most remarkable woman he'd ever