“She said you were a good man once. She said you loved your family. But something happened after Grandma Eleanor died, and you changed. You became obsessed with the company. You started fighting with everyone. Eventually, you stopped answering her calls.”
Arthur's face tightened.
“That isn't what happened.”
“I know you might disagree.”
“No, Emily. Listen to me.”
His voice was still gentle, but there was an urgency beneath it.
“I never stopped answering her calls. I never received them.”
Emily looked at him.
“What?”
Arthur leaned forward.
“For years, I waited for your mother to contact me. I wrote letters. I sent birthday cards. I called her apartment. Every time, I was told she wanted nothing to do with me.”
Emily shook her head.
“My mother never received any letters.”
Arthur stared at her.
“Then someone intercepted them.”
The realization seemed to strike both of them at once.
Daniel Reed looked away.
Arthur noticed.
“Daniel.”
The businessman slowly turned back.
“Did you know about this?”
Daniel did not answer.
Arthur's eyes narrowed.
“Did you know someone had been keeping my family apart?”
“I knew there were irregularities.”
“What kind of irregularities?”
Daniel glanced toward the other passengers.
Arthur's voice became firmer.
“I am tired of hearing about things that cannot be discussed in public. I spent twelve years being told that my daughter wanted nothing to do with me. If you know something, tell me.”
Daniel took a breath.
“Mr. Bennett, I was working in the corporate communications department when the dispute began. I wasn't part of the executive board, but I handled several documents related to your family's personal affairs.”
“Go on.”
“After Mrs. Bennett died, Richard Bennett took control of the company's internal communications. He said he was protecting the company from unnecessary distractions.”
Arthur gave a bitter laugh.
“Richard was my nephew. He was twenty-six years old when I first gave him a job.”
Daniel nodded.
“I know.”
“I paid for his education. I gave him his first apartment. When his father died, I treated him like my own son.”
Arthur looked at the floor.
“And he thanked me by turning my family against me.”
Daniel remained silent.
Emily moved closer.
“Who is Richard Bennett?”
Arthur looked at her.
“My late wife's sister had a son. Richard. Your grandmother and I helped raise him after his father died.”
“Was he involved in the company?”
“He was.”
Arthur paused.
“Too involved, perhaps.”
Daniel opened his briefcase and removed a thin black folder.
“I kept copies of several internal records. I wasn't sure whether they would ever be useful.”
Arthur looked at the folder.
“What is that?”
“Correspondence from the period when you left the company.”
Daniel placed it on the small table between them.
“Most of the original records were destroyed during a system migration. But I saved some of the emails and printed documents.”
Arthur opened the folder.
The first page was a copy of an internal memo.
The date was twelve years earlier.
It was addressed to Richard Bennett.
The subject line read:
FAMILY COMMUNICATION RESTRICTIONS — ARTHUR BENNETT
Arthur read the document slowly.
His face became pale.
The memo instructed staff to redirect all incoming communications from Margaret Parker and to prevent outgoing correspondence from Arthur's private office from reaching her.
There were also instructions concerning birthday cards, medical updates, and family invitations.
Arthur turned the page.
A second document contained a list of telephone calls.
Several calls from Margaret had been marked as declined.
Arthur looked at Daniel.
“How many?”
Daniel lowered his eyes.
“Twenty-three.”
“Twenty-three?”
“Yes, sir.”
Arthur's hand trembled.
“Twenty-three times my daughter tried to reach me?”
Daniel nodded.
Arthur looked at the dates.
Some of the calls had been made on Christmas Eve.
Others had been made on his birthday.
One had been made on the day his granddaughter turned five.
He placed the papers down.
For several seconds, he could not speak.
Emily sat beside him.
“Grandpa…”
Arthur looked at her.
“I didn't know.”
His voice broke.
“I swear to you, I didn't know.”
Emily reached for his hand.
“I believe you.”
Those three words seemed to release something inside him.
Arthur bowed his head.
And after twelve years of silence, he began to cry.
Daniel stood quietly, looking at the floor.
The aircraft's engines continued to hum.
Outside, the ground crew was preparing for departure.
But inside the cabin, time seemed to have stopped.
The captain eventually announced that the aircraft would be delayed by approximately twenty minutes.
Daniel used the opportunity to request a private conversation with Arthur and Emily in the forward lounge.
The three of them moved to a small seating area behind the cockpit.
Arthur carried the folder.
Emily brought her handbag and the old photograph.
Once they were seated, Arthur turned toward Daniel.
“Now tell me why you were so frightened when you saw my name.”
Daniel rubbed his forehead.
“Because I wasn't expecting you to be on this flight.”
“You said that already.”
“Richard arranged this aircraft. He was supposed to travel with us.”
Arthur looked at him.
“Richard was supposed to be on this plane?”
“Yes.”
“Then where is he?”
Daniel hesitated.
“He canceled his reservation this morning.”
Arthur leaned back.
“Convenient.”
“I don't know why he canceled.”
“Did he know I was coming?”
Daniel shook his head.
“I don't think so.”
Arthur studied him.
“Then how did my invitation end up in your company's system?”
Daniel opened his briefcase again.