Page 19 of Second Chance At Love

“I did the best I could in the circumstances I had. You don’t understand anything. I protected Addison by making sure her income wasn’t funded by the laundered money. I made sure Ben wasn’t in the family business at all. Nate would have continued to bully him. I followed the edicts of Nate’s will, even as I didn’t want to. I offered Cora funds to try to help her. She was the one who turned them down. I tempered Nate’s worst habits. I made him a better person, even when he didn’t want tobe. He had his flaws but he was my best friend. Never once did he let me down.

“You weren’t here, Henry. You have no idea what was happening so you have no right to judge me. Am I perfect? Far from it. Yet I did what I could and here you are, trying to pretend righteousness. Trying to make me into some sort of villian when you are the one who has kicked me out of my rightful place with the company, my inheritance, and traded my shares for a fraction of their real value. As far as I’m concerned, we are done. Don’t come back,” warned Gerrit.

Henry watched as Gerrit walked out the door, slamming it behind him.

Left in the sudden silence of the room, Henry leaned forward, putting his head in his hands. He hated confrontations, always had. Even as a child he would go out of his way to resolve people’s disputes, or avoid a fight. Henry supposed he was a lot like Nick in that respect. However, maturity and life had taught him sometimes conflict was necessary.

Yet in this case, it didn’t feel like it had resolved anything. Gerrit was angry, possibly rightfully so on some matters, yet defensively guilty on others. There was nothing Henry could do about the shares, they were already sold and redistributed. He could top up the funds but would rather wait until the FBI levied their fine against Gerrit. Then Henry might be able to help his brother monetarily afterward. However, would that be a mistake if Gerrit refused to stay sober?

Henry didn’t have any answers. The only thing he could take any form of action on was to talk to Parker about the video surveillance. Maybe he would be able to see for certain if Gerrit took the drug out of the hospital.

At the very least, he might be able to clear Gerrit’s name on murdering anyone.

As for Gerrit’s accusation about Cora cheating, Henry didn’t believe it. Cora had been terrified of Nate. There was no way she was going to risk an affair. That was Gerrit parroting Nate’s vile beliefs. Gerrit was also trying to strike out at those who were hurting him in defense of his own pain. He did that often when he had been growing up, Henry recalled.

Which meant Gerrit knew he could hurt Henry by attacking Cora verbally. As long as Gerrit didn’t do anything further, like spread his suspicions to the FBI through his lawyer, then Cora would be okay. Henry resolved to talk with Gerrit’s lawyers, to make sure that any information they had should come through Henry before brokering any sorts of deals.

He needed to control any damage his brother was thinking of doing.

Lost in his thoughts and nearly dozing off, the ringing of his phone jerked Henry into wakefulness. Checking the cellphone, Henry saw that he was going to be late for an appointment. Part of him wanted to cancel it, but Henry knew that wasn’t an option. He had to go to his medical appointments. If he missed too many or had any health issues, he could lose his spot on the transplant list.

Grimacing, Henry got to his feet and made his way to the front desk where he signed out before heading to his car. He was so very tired. Leaning against the vehicle, he caught sight of a taxi letting off a passenger at the facility.

Exactly what he needed, decided Henry. Waving down the taxi, Henry got in the back and gave the driver the address of Mercy Hospital.

He managed a fifteen minute nap before the cabbie woke him at the entrance. Paying the fare, Henry headed to his doctor’s office for his appointment.

An hour later with numerous scans, bloodwork, a weigh in, and other tests, the doctor finally sat down with him.

“You’re still working?” asked the doctor.

“Yes,” replied Henry breathlessly. He was still having trouble breathing after a simple stress test on a treadmill. The worst part was they had given him an oxygen tube afterward and it made Henry feel mentally that everyone could now visibility seehe was sick. Like it was one big step in the progression to defeat of hishealth. He still wore the hated tube and had the canister beside him while he sat in a mobility chair. It wasn’t a full wheelchair but it wasn’t far off.

Henry was surprised at his instant dislike of the situation. He thought he had accepted that this was his most likely fate. He knew it was going to get worse before it got better.

If it got better.

Plenty of people died waiting for a new heart. Sometimes the transplants didn’t work out either by dying on the operating table, of complications, or by rejection. Just because he was on the list didn’t mean he was going to live.

Yet how he hoped he would.

Henry had started looking forward to life again. He wanted to meet Cora’s and Addison’s babies, see Nick and Oliver graduate, and watch Ben get married. Henry wanted to be a part of all of that.

Perhaps that was why his mind was rebelling against his current situation, the weakness that he was now facing.

“Henry,” the doctor’s disapproving voice came into his thoughts. “You need to stop working. It’s too much stress on your health. You need to slow down if you are going to make it to the transplant operation.”

“I can’t stop,” said Henry. He couldn’t. There was too much depending on him.

“Hire someone to take over,” advised the doctor. “Immediately. Your condition has worsened significantly. You need to start protecting your health. No visits with anyone whohas any virus. Watch for infections. Stop visiting public places. No more work.”

Henry reluctantly nodded. He could do most of those things. However, there were still some things he needed to attend to himself.

“How did you get to your appointment today?” questioned the doctor.

“I took a taxi,” truthfully answered Henry.

“Good. I’m putting you on a medical suspension for your license. You can’t be driving anymore. I won’t risk you getting into an accident,” stated the doctor as he wrote on his notepad. “You also have been losing weight. You need to watch your diet, Henry. You’re too thin as it is.”