Chapter 18 - What Grant Never Could
Grant asked Nolan to meet him at the ballroom.
Empty this time.
No gala.
No cameras.
Avery and Lily were upstairs doing homework together.
Grant stood where Avery had screamed.
"I keep thinking about the title people gave this story."
"What title?"
"The billionaire's daughter made every expert walk away until a broke single dad sat beside her and did the one thing her father never could."
Nolan winced.
"That's awful."
Grant laughed.
"Very."
Then he became serious.
"What was the one thing?"
Nolan thought.
"I didn't need her to stop."
Grant nodded.
That was it.
Grant had needed Avery calm because her distress made him feel helpless.
Experts had been hired to reduce symptoms.
Security had been trained to control risk.
Everyone needed something from Avery.
Nolan did not.
He simply sat.
Grant looked toward the staircase.
"I was trying to get my daughter back."
"You were trying to get the version of her from before Catherine died."
Grant closed his eyes.
"Yeah."
"That kid doesn't exist anymore."
Grant nodded.
"But Avery does."
They stood in silence.
Then Avery shouted from upstairs.
"Dad!"
Grant immediately looked terrified.
Nolan smiled.
"Go."
Grant ran.
Avery only needed help with math.
Grant sat beside her for forty minutes.
He did not solve the problems for her.
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That was harder than running a billion-dollar company.
