"We're not here just for some ordered dinner, we are here for business," Ashley, his sister, says, her tone laced with impatient.
She doesn't even try to hide the boredom lacing her words. "Will you guys finish this fast so we can leave? I have more important things to do than just sit here."
"Business?" Henry asks, his brows lifting slightly. He can't help but wonder why they would bring up business here, in his house, instead of at a company boardroom like civilized people.
His voice carries a note of curiosity, but his expression remains steady, unreadable. His face doesn't reveal much. It's still Calm and detached.
"Sit," his father orders.
But Henry stays on his feet. "I'm fine," he answers flatly, hands still buried in his pockets, his posture deliberately casual, almost provoking.
His father is quiet for a moment before exhaling a deep sigh. "This is not about business like your sister said," the old man finally says, his tone heavy with the weight of what is to come. "This is about family."
Henry scoffs inwardly. Family?! The word rings hollow in his mind. Something in his gut tells him this isn't just about 'family.' Of course not.
But he doesn't speak or even let his face twitch. He just keeps his gaze fixed on his father, waiting. Waiting for the real bomb to drop.
"...Since you have been so distant, refusing to come or attend any of our family meetings," his father continues, "we think it's better if you returned to the city and worked in the main company." His words are coated with concern, spoken with the softness of care, as though inviting Henry back into the warmth of family.
But Henry knows better. He knows this isn't about care. He knows they don't just want him back. There is more behind this sudden "concern." There always is. And he is waiting for it to come out.
"Adrian can take over the branch here," his father goes on. "I know that even if Adrian stays here, he will still come home often. He won't distance himself the way you have."
And there it is. The words that slice through Henry before he can even process them.
For a moment, he almost laughs. A bitter, humorless chuckle escapes him.
So this is it. After all the years he poured into building this branch, dragging it up from the ground with his own effort, Adrian had gone and demanded it from their father. And now his father was willing to hand it over to him, just like that, as if Henry's work meant nothing. As if he has no say on that.
Worse, they expected Henry to give it up without resistance. They expected him to smile and step aside so he could go back to the "main company," the very company they have dragged into ruin.
"No."
The word leaves his lips queit but final. He doesn't bother to lecture them about how this has nothing to do with family.
"What do you mean no?!" Adrian snaps, his voice cutting into the air like a whip.
Henry tilts his head slightly, his patience thinning. "What don't you understand? Isn't 'no' a full sentence that stands on its own and gives full meaning?" His composure starts to falter.
"So you are even going to show your father that arrogance you always throw at me?" his stepmother suddenly spits out, her voice sharp with accusation. It's the first time she's addressed him directly since walking into his home. "I thought you only act this way toward me because I am not your mother!"
Her words hit the room like venom, but Henry doesn't flinch. He can't even remember the last time he spoke to her directly.
"Please, leave," He says, ignoring her completely. His tone is even, though he forces the calmness into every word. "It's getting late, and I want to rest."
"Who do you think you are in these companies to say anything at all, Henry?! You don't own them. Dad owns them, and you cannot fight what he says about them," Adrian shouts, his voice rising. "So whether you like it or not, you are going to do what he said anyway!"
"Lower your voice." Henry almost covers his ears, "You're not talking to someone who is absent, I'm right here. And I thought this was about family, so why is it starting to sound otherwise?!" He turns to his father. "You want me to visit home? Fine, I'll do that. But I'm not leaving this town or the branch. Problem solved. So please, excuse me." He gestures toward the door, trying to make it look polite, though inside he wants to scream and throw every one of them out.
"Give the branch to your brother. And if you don't want to work in the main company, then that's your own choice. But don't say we excluded you. That you're not part of the family's business," his father says, standing up. His voice isn't loud, but it carries finality.
The words cut Henry to the core. Anger surges through him. His father's words make his head throb painfully.
Why wouldn't the old man even consider what Henry wanted or didn't want? How could he think of taking it away now, after giving it to him when it was nothing but scraps?
Were all those sleepless nights, the skipped meals.. everything, truly for nothing?
"You're right," he says suddenly, "that's my own decision. I don't want to work in it. In fact, I don't want to work in any of it. Family business?! Screw it!"
His composure finally cracks as his voice rises.
He storms into his office with is just around the hallway and comes back almost immediately with files and documents tied to the company, thrusting them into his father's hands as if he had never wanted them in the first place.