“Yes, you were,” he agreed. “And I hated you. Oh, how I hated you. For years I woke up and went to sleep thinking about you. That hatred ate me up inside. It hurt me more than anything else.”
He paused to catch his breath. Lilia, who had been standing quietly by the door, approached and handed him a glass of water.
“But now… now I’m tired of hating, Asene. I’m too old and too sick to waste what little energy I have left on hating.” He raised his hand and pointed at me. “What you’re doing now… paying for my treatment… Why?”
“Because I owe you. I owe you much more than that.”
“No. You don’t owe me anything,” he shook his head. “You owe it to them.” He looked at Lilia. “They grew up with my story. They grew up deprived, hearing about the great traitor Assen. Deyan is poisoned by my own hatred, which I have passed on to him for years. And Lilia… she tried to save us all. She worked until she fainted to pay for my medicine and his education. She sacrificed her youth.”
Tears were streaming down my face. I didn’t try to hide them.
“I know about the case,” Naum continued. “And about that… Simeon. Deyan told me everything. He thinks this is justice. But I see it for what it is. The same old, dirty game. Just with new players. Vultures who feed on other people’s pain.”
He turned to Lilia. “Daughter, bring me the documents.”
Lilia went out for a moment and returned with a folder. She handed it to her grandfather. With trembling hands, Naum took out a few sheets of paper and a pen.
“This is a power of attorney,” he said, looking me straight in the eye. “With it, I, as the person directly affected, withdraw all claims against you and your company. And I forbid anyone else from acting on my behalf in this case. Without my participation, their case has no value.”
I was stunned. I couldn’t believe it.
“But… why?”
“Because I don’t want my grandchildren to live my life. I don’t want them to spend the next ten years in courtrooms, feeding their hatred. I want them to live. I want Deyan to graduate from university and become a great engineer like I couldn’t. I want Liliya to write her books. I don’t want your money, Asene. I want a future for them. This case is taking it away from them.”
He began to sign his name. His hand was shaking violently, the letters were crooked and uncertain. When he finished, he handed the paper to me.
“Now it’s your turn,” he said. “Use this to stop Simeon. But then… then I want you to do something for me. Not with money. With deeds.”
“Anything,” I said. “Anything you want.”
“Help Deyan. He’s a good boy, but he’s confused and angry. He needs direction, a mentor. You know the business world better than anyone. Teach him how to fight, but not in your old way. Teach him to create, not destroy. And Lilia… give her back the time we took away from her. Give her the opportunity to study, to write, to be young. This is the price of my forgiveness.”
I held the document in my hands. It weighed more than all my millions. This wasn’t just paper. It was a chance. A chance for redemption.
At that moment the door burst open. Deyan stood in the doorway. His face was pale with rage. He looked at the paper in my hand, then at his grandfather, then at his sister.
“What have you done?” he shouted. “Traitors! You sold out! You sold my father’s memory for this murderer’s money!”
He lunged at me, trying to snatch the document from my hands. Lilia stood between us.
“Enough, Deyane! Don’t you understand? Grandpa did it for us! To free us!”
“Free us? He chains us to him forever! He makes us his debtors! I don’t want it! I want justice!”
“This is not justice, but revenge!” Naum shouted from the bed with his last strength. “And it will destroy you!”
Deyan looked at us with eyes full of pain and contempt. Then he turned and ran out of the room. We heard his footsteps fade away in the hallway.
Lilia collapsed into a chair and covered her face with her hands. Naum sighed and closed his eyes, completely exhausted. And I stood there, with the weapon of my salvation in my hand, but with the clear awareness that the war was far from over. I had gained an ally, but perhaps I had lost forever the person I should have helped the most.
Chapter 6: Counterattack
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