Episode 27

The air in Saco was thick with the scent of salt and pine, a familiar perfume that usually soothed Douglas Michael. Not today. Today, it clung to him like a damp shroud, mirroring the chill that had settled deep within his bones. He sat in his oak-paneled office, the polished mahogany reflecting the dim light filtering through the blinds, a stark contrast to the tempest brewing inside him. His clients’ money, once a comforting buffer, now felt like a heavy burden, each dollar a testament to a life built on the quicksand of deception. He’d burned the flag, a foolish act of youthful rebellion in a war that had left deeper scars than any burn. And his son… his son was a wildfire, mirroring the destructive path Douglas himself had blazed. The inheritance from his sisters, the very foundation of his financial empire, now felt tainted, a bitter reminder of the sister he’d cast out, the one whose very existence was a thorn in his side. He swirled the amber liquid in his glass, the ice