CHAPTER 7

"This morning I was worried about making my rent payment, and now you're telling me I'm heir to... all this?" Max's voice trembled as he gestured at the vast office surrounding them.

Richard leaned forward, his eyes filled with years of pain and hope. 

Richard leaned forward, his eyes glistening. 

"Yes, Max. You're the only surviving heir of the Montgomery family. Your parents—my son and daughter-in-law—they perished in the fire sixteen years ago."

Max stood up abruptly, pacing the room. 

"Our enemies—business rivals who couldn't stand the Montgomery success—they plotted it all." 

Richard's hands clenched into fists. "They wanted to end our family line. But they failed because you survived."

"How... how did you know I was alive?"

"I never found a body," Richard's eyes glistened. 

"I searched everywhere, followed every lead, no matter how small. For sixteen years, I chased shadows and whispers, hoping to find you."

Max slumped back in his chair, overwhelmed.

 "The Hendersons—my foster family—they told me something. About the day I came to them."

"Tell me," Richard urged softly.

"A middle-aged man brought me to their doorstep. Just left my name—Max—and disappeared." He ran his fingers through his hair.

 "I never knew who he was or why he chose them."

"Do you..." Richard hesitated, "do you remember anything about that night? The fire?"

Max shook his head, running his fingers through his dark hair. 

"Nothing. Just fragments sometimes in my dreams—heat, smoke, someone carrying me. But it all feels like a blur."

Richard's face darkened.

 "Someone who knew what was coming, perhaps. Someone who wanted to keep you safe."

"All these years..." Max's voice cracked. 

"While I was worried about making ends meet, you were searching for me?"

"Every single day," Richard whispered. 

"I hired private investigators, followed leads across continents. Sometimes I'd get a hint—a boy who looked like James, a child with Elizabeth's eyes—but it never led to you. Until now."

Tears welled up in Max's eyes. 

"I grew up thinking I was nobody. Just another foster kid."

"Oh, Max," Richard's voice broke.

 "You were never nobody. You're a Montgomery. My grandson. The heir to everything your parents built."

"I'm so sorry," Richard continued, his shoulders sagging. 

"We should have protected you better. Should have found you sooner. To think of you struggling while your inheritance waited..."

"Don't," Max interrupted, reaching across to grasp Richard's hand. 

"Please don't apologize. These years... they shaped who I am. I learned to work hard, to appreciate every dollar earned. The Hendersons taught me kindness, humility."

"But you deserved so much more..."

"What I deserved and what I needed might be different things," Max said thoughtfully. 

"I'm grateful for my life, every part of it. And now..." he squeezed Richard's hand, "I'm grateful to have found my grandfather."

Richard looked up, tears streaming down his weathered face. "You don't hate us? For failing to protect you?"

"Hate you?" Max shook his head, his own eyes wet. "How could I hate someone who never gave up hope? Who spent sixteen years searching for me? I'm lucky to have you as my grandfather."

Richard stared into Max's eyes for a long moment, seeing shadows of his son James and daughter-in-law Elizabeth. Finally, he spoke, his voice firm despite his tears.

He returned to his seat, leaning forward earnestly. "The foster family that raised you...very well.”

"They taught me to work hard," Max nodded. "To appreciate what I have."

"Exactly." Richard smiled warmly.

 "You could have become bitter, angry at the world. Instead, you developed strength of character. Just like your father."

Max swallowed hard. "I wish I could have known them."

"They would be so proud of the man you've become," Richard said softly. 

Then he straightened in his chair, his expression growing more serious. Looking directly into Max's eyes, he continued, "That's why I want you to inherit everything."

"Everything?" Max's voice wavered.

"Max, as my only grandson and heir, everything belongs to you now. The estate, the business holdings, all of it."

The color drained from Max's face. "Everything?"

"The Montgomery legacy is yours, as it should be."

Max staggered backward, his mind reeling.

 The bookstore job he'd worried about keeping just that morning suddenly seemed like a dream from another life. 

"But I don't know anything about running an estate or a business. I'm just—"

"You're a Montgomery," Richard said firmly. "Everything else can be learned."

Max's head spun with the implications. Just hours ago, he'd been counting pennies for rent, and now...

Richard placed a heavy brass key in Max's palm. 

"The entire Montgomery estate. The company, the properties, all of it." Richard's gaze never wavered.