With Naum’s power of attorney in hand, the game changed completely. Simeon was furious. His main trump card, the tragic story of the deceived partner, was gone. The case, devoid of the testimony and consent of the main victim, became a legal absurdity. His lawyers tried to continue it on Deyan’s behalf, but without Naum it was almost impossible to prove the extent of the damages.
Radoslav was in a whirlwind. “Now we’re going to crush them, Asene. We’re going to counterattack them with a case for attempted extortion and defamation. We’re going to make Simeon regret the day he decided to mess with you.”
“No,” I said. “There will be no counter-action. I will not drag Deyan into even more trouble. The goal is not to destroy him, but to save him.”
Radoslav looked at me like I was crazy. “Asen, this is a business war. He attacks you, you fight back. If you show weakness, they will eat you alive.”
“This is not a business war. Not for me. This is a family matter.”
I refused to campaign aggressively. Instead, we used Naum’s power of attorney to file a motion to dismiss the case. It was a quiet, procedural victory, without any media hype. Simeon was forced to step down, but I knew he hadn’t given up. He would simply wait for another opportunity.
Now I had a more difficult task ahead of me – to fulfill my promise to Naum.
Deyan had disappeared. He wasn’t coming home to the apartment, he wasn’t answering Lilia’s calls. She had panicked. He had dropped out of university, he had cut off all ties. She was afraid that in his desperation he might do something stupid.
I had to use my old methods again. I hired the same private detective who had found Lilia’s address. After a few days, he found her. Deyan lived in a miserable apartment in the industrial zone of the city and worked as a general laborer on a construction site. He punished himself with hard physical labor, trying to escape from his thoughts.
I went to find him. It was lunchtime, the workers were sitting on makeshift benches eating. Deyan was alone in a corner, dirty and exhausted, staring at his sandwich. When he saw me, he jumped to his feet, ready to fight.
“You again? Haven’t you had enough? You won! What more do you want?”
“I came to talk,” I said calmly.
“We have nothing to talk about!”
“Your grandfather asked me. He asked me to help you.”
That stopped him. The mention of his grandfather was the only thing that could pierce his armor of anger.
“My grandfather is naive. He always has been. He believes in the good in people. I don’t make that mistake.”
“He doesn’t believe in my good. He believes in yours,” I replied. “Dejan, I know you hate me. And you have every right to. But let me tell you something about the world Simeon tried to drag you into. There are no friends in this world, only interests. Today he is your ally because he needs you to hit me. Tomorrow, when you are no longer useful to him, he will crush you without blinking an eye. I have done it. He does it. It is a game for predators. And you are not like that.”
He was silent, but he was listening.
“You have a mind. You have a passion. Your grandfather told me you wanted to be an engineer. You wanted to build, to create. And Simeon was turning you into an instrument of destruction. Your anger is righteous, but it blinds you. Don’t let my past destroy your future.”
I pulled an envelope out of my pocket. “This is not charity. This is an investment. A full scholarship to complete your education. At any university in the world you choose. And a job offer. When you graduate, we will start a new company. You will run it. It will be in memory of your grandfather and will be about innovation, about the things he wanted to do. I will give you the seed capital, I will give you my contacts, but the ideas, the vision, everything will be yours. This is my way of paying my debt. Not to you. To him.”
Deyan looked at the envelope as if it were a snake.
“I don’t want anything from you.”
“Don’t take it from me. Take it as an inheritance from your grandfather. This is what he wants for you. A chance. The chance I took away from him. You can take it back.”
I set the envelope on the bench next to him. “The choice is yours. You can stay here, punish yourself, and let the hate eat you up, just like your grandfather did. Or you can take these tools and build something bigger and better than my damn ‘Empire.’ You can prove that your family name means creation, not sacrifice.”
I turned and walked away without looking back. I didn’t know if he would take the envelope. But I knew I had given him a choice. A real choice.
My next task was Lilia. She was easier and at the same time more difficult. She didn’t need convincing, but permission. Permission to stop feeling responsible for everyone and think about herself.
I set her up with a famous literary agent and paid for a year-long creative writing course at a prestigious university. When I told her, she burst into tears.
“But I can’t… Grandpa, Deyan…”
“Your grandfather is being cared for by the best doctors. He is in safe hands. And Deyan must find his own way. You have carried this burden for too long, Lilia. It is time to let it go. Your grandfather wants you to write your books. Do it for him.”
She hugged me. It was the first time anyone had touched me with a gesture of affection in years. In that moment, in that brief, awkward embrace, I felt that redemption was possible.
Chapter 7: A New Beginning
A year has passed.
Naum passed away peacefully a few months after our conversation. Until his last day, he was surrounded by care and the love of his granddaughter. He went peacefully, free from hatred. I paid for the funeral, but I didn’t go. It wasn’t my place. It was their moment to say goodbye.
Lilia graduated with honors from the creative writing course. Her first collection of short stories was accepted for publication. It was dedicated to “a grandfather who taught me the power of words, and an unexpected friend who showed me the power of forgiveness.” When I read the dedication, I cried for the first time since my wife’s death.
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