Ethan pointed toward the drawing beside it.
"It's supposed to hold five pounds."
Richard leaned closer.
"That's ambitious."
The boy nodded solemnly.
"It's for science class."
Richard looked at the materials.
"Need help?"
Ethan hesitated.
Then said, "You can watch."
The answer surprised him.
Richard pulled out a chair.
"All right."
He sat down.
For nearly an hour, Ethan worked.
He measured.
Glued.
Adjusted supports.
Then tested the structure with small weights.
Richard offered suggestions only when asked.
The boy seemed pleased.
When the bridge finally held the required weight, Ethan threw both hands into the air.
"It worked!"
Richard laughed.
"Sure did."
The boy grinned.
Then his expression changed.
"Dad?"
"Yeah?"
"Are you going to come to the science fair?"
Richard felt his chest tighten.
He thought of the previous year.
The missed volcano demonstration.
Nicole telling him Ethan had not cared whether he attended.
He took a slow breath.
"When is it?"
Ethan told him.
Richard opened his calendar.
Entered the date.
Then looked toward his son.
"Yes."
The boy studied him.
"Even if you have work?"
Richard considered.
"I'll arrange my work around it."
Ethan's face brightened.
Then he looked down.
For a moment, he seemed embarrassed.
Richard noticed.
"What is it?"
The boy whispered, "Can Maya come too?"
Richard smiled.
"We'll ask her."
Ethan nodded.
Then hugged him unexpectedly.
Richard closed his eyes.
He held his son tightly.
And realized that the most important work of rebuilding their family would not happen in courtrooms or accounting offices.
It would happen here.
At the kitchen table.
In school auditoriums.
During ordinary conversations.
And in the moments when his children needed to discover whether his promises could finally be trusted.
The financial investigations continued through winter.
Richard's relationship with Adrian deteriorated completely.
The two men communicated only through counsel and authorized business procedures.
Richard stepped away from decisions where conflicts of interest could compromise the independent review.
The company brought in outside management to protect ongoing projects and employees.
Some contracts were suspended.
Others were renegotiated.
The financial losses were painful.
Richard sold a vacation property he had purchased several years earlier.
He reduced personal spending.
And set aside funds to address legitimate company obligations while legal proceedings determined responsibility for the missing money.
He did not enjoy any of it.
He had once measured success by the number of projects his company completed and the value of the contracts it held.
Now he found himself measuring progress differently.
A subcontractor receiving overdue payment.
A tenant finally getting a safe window installed.
An employee who could keep working.
A family who no longer had to sleep beneath a leaking ceiling.
He understood that Laura would have cared about those outcomes far more than the company's reputation.