Angelo Marino sends the assistants out and locks the door to our father’s office. He presses a button on the wall and the giant windows dim. The room is dark except for the glow from our phones and the blue holding pattern that the projector throws on the wall.
All of a sudden, our father’s face fills the screen. Gabriella gasps.
“Yes, yes, I am dead,” he says, chuckling. “I know this must be a little awkward for all of you, but the simple fact is that now you are all going to have to fend for yourselves without me to settle your disputes or keep you from being damned fools. Henley, I am mostly talking to you here.”
Henley shifts in his seat, crossing and then uncrossing his legs.
“But I’m not only talking to Henley, although it is now all of your jobs to keep him out of trouble. All that you have now is each other. As I’m sure you all know by now, you can’t really trust anyone else in this awful old world. You can’t even trust Angelo. I’m dead now, so I can say it: he’s more snake than man.”
Dad chuckles and Angelo Marino looks at the ceiling, cracking his neck.
“Gabriella, you are the baby. But that doesn’t mean you have to act like it. I know you have a good head for business, but you are easily distracted. I want you to learn to focus, and to reap the fruits of your diligence and goal-directed efforts. I want you to feel the thrill of personal achievement. I know that the Nylo Corporation doesn’t hold much interest for you. I know that you do not like the competitive challenge of games. However, that doesn’t mean that the Nylo Corporation couldn’t benefit from your insights and natural wisdom.
“Bernard! Are you there? I have always admired you, my cold and analytical child, for your fine mind and your skeptical nature. You have to keep your siblings down to earth. You must keep them from getting a big head or losing sight of the bottom line. I know that you have your own strange urges and inclinations, and I know that you have always had a very… shall we say… romantic spirit. I know you are lonely. I know you don’t always understand other people. But you are part of this family, and you need to know that no one in the world will ever understand you better than your own brothers and sisters, not to mention your own wife and your own children.
“Alistair, my boy. I don’t have much to say to you now that I haven’t already told you a million times in person. It has been such a gift and a joy and a luxury that I have been able spend so much time with you and to see you grow so much as a creator. Some of the best work I have ever done has been at your side and I have always been so inspired by you. I have marveled at your restless, relentless, inventive mind. I’m sure you will continue to make great things for us. We are very alike, you and I. For that reason, I don’t really know what advice to give you. Certainly, I was often my own worst enemy. Don’t be yours.
“Henley, did you really outlive me? I find that hard to believe. Sober up and do the right thing. And if you can’t do that, at least make sure to share the fun. It’s no good to keep all the pleasures of the world to yourself. I do believe that eventually you will discover that the best feeling in the world is doing things for other people and I do believe that eventually it is the feeling of service that will overtake you as your final addiction. In the interim, please do everything that your older and wiser siblings tell you to do. They know better than you. You are a delightful and charming idiot.
“Which brings me to Caitlyn, my oldest. I guess you expect that you are going to inherit everything that matters, don’t you, Caitlyn? I guess you expect that the Nylo Corporation is now going to fall frictionlessly into your capable hands? Well, I am here to tell you that this is indeed very far from the case. I am here to tell you that if you expect to take over the company, you are going to have to earn it. And I am here to tell you that your sister and your brothers have just as much of a chance to take over control of the Nylo Corporation as you do. Yes, gather round, children. Because you are about to go on an adventure. I have a game for you to play. One last game. And the winner gets everything.”
9
With Dad’s shocking words echoing in our heads, we all sit stunned. Sensing the mood, Angelo Marino walks over to the projector and pauses the feed. Our father’s affable face still fills the screen, but his eyes are slitted, mid-blink.
“What the hell is going on?” I say. “A game? Like in a bad sitcom?”
Henley walks over to our father’s sideboard and takes down two glasses. He fills them each with the Japanese bourbon that our father liked so much. He takes a big sip and then brings me the other glass. Bernard, scowling at him, retrieves the bottle for himself.
“This is some kind of joke, right?” I say.
“I’m afraid not,” says Angelo Marino. “He went to elaborate lengths to set everything up before he died. I’ve been working nonstop since the body went cold to get everything in place. This is really what he wanted.”
“Then he was obviously crazy,” says Bernard. “And we
