Sector would not be the Silk Sector, and the Colts would not be the Colts. Once the kings and queens of politics and business, the Colts had been reduced through generations of isolation and unfortunate occurrences to only himself and his two less than extraordinary children.
Being one of the last of a formidable clan had never bothered him. He saw it, as he saw so many things in life, as an opportunity. After the death of his parents in a tragic accident shortly after his marriage to the accomplished and beautiful Senator Elizabeth Lin, Victor had taken it upon himself to lay the foundations for a new beginning to the Colt legacy. His children did not make achieving his goal easy. Every time he sorted them out, a new problem arose.
Victor read about the latest problem. Although Counselor Mayuri had marked her communication urgent, he hadn’t found time to read it until almost an entire day later. Being an important man meant time-consuming obligations filled his days.
Apparently, his daughter had suffered some kind of psychotic episode. The Counselor had taken care of everything with the police, but she was concerned about Jane’s mental health. She had included in her communication a list of psychiatrists in addition to an offer to counsel Jane herself.
Victor was disappointed. No daughter of his should be mentally ill. Colts were stronger than that. But she was, after all, merely a confused young girl, and biological imbalances could not be helped. He sighed heavily.
My dear little Jane, why must you make things so difficult for me?
He would have to spend his valuable time ensuring the police, Counselor Mayuri, and any psychiatrists who might become involved kept quiet. The very thought gave him a headache. He’d had enough distractions for one day—the bothersome last-minute meeting with an exasperating client, the unexpected visit from maintenance to update the internal defense guns on his ceiling, the urgent call from a subordinate in the Eryatian system.
Victor wasn’t too concerned about his daughter. Jane was a good child, if a foolish one. Thanks to advances in medicine, she would be all right once she received treatment. He was more concerned that Devin hadn’t paid her enough attention to notice signs of her illness. As much as he cared about her, Victor was too busy to watch over Jane and had told Devin to look after his little sister. If Devin had done so properly, the situation with the police would have been prevented.
“Inbox,” Victor barked at his computer. An abnormally large proportion of the unread communications had been sent by his son. Odd. “Show missed communications from Devin Colt.”
The computer pulled up a long list, beginning the previous evening. The latest attempt to reach him had been twenty minutes ago. They all contained the same request for an audience. No doubt it concerned Jane’s incident.
Victor leaned back in his chair and put his feet on his desk, looking blankly past the transparent walls of his office. Devin clearly knew what had happened. He should have taken care of it himself.
Very disappointing indeed.
But it was a minor misstep. Compared to the disaster Devin had once been, the current lack of responsibility was no reason for concern. On every other front, Devin was finally becoming the person he was supposed to be. He had much room for improvement, but Victor nonetheless prided himself on the work he had done with his son. His persistence had transformed a thoughtless, out-of-control youth into an elite young professional.
Devin had been disobedient as a child, and Victor and his wife had made it clear that they expected more. The boy’s schoolwork had improved, but around the age of twelve, he had become the kind of nightmare adolescent every parent dreaded. It began with a few routine attitude problems. From there, it spun out exponentially, exploding into a near decade of mayhem.
There’s nothing more heartbreaking than to realize the child one
Being one of the last of a formidable clan had never bothered him. He saw it, as he saw so many things in life, as an opportunity. After the death of his parents in a tragic accident shortly after his marriage to the accomplished and beautiful Senator Elizabeth Lin, Victor had taken it upon himself to lay the foundations for a new beginning to the Colt legacy. His children did not make achieving his goal easy. Every time he sorted them out, a new problem arose.
Victor read about the latest problem. Although Counselor Mayuri had marked her communication urgent, he hadn’t found time to read it until almost an entire day later. Being an important man meant time-consuming obligations filled his days.
Apparently, his daughter had suffered some kind of psychotic episode. The Counselor had taken care of everything with the police, but she was concerned about Jane’s mental health. She had included in her communication a list of psychiatrists in addition to an offer to counsel Jane herself.
Victor was disappointed. No daughter of his should be mentally ill. Colts were stronger than that. But she was, after all, merely a confused young girl, and biological imbalances could not be helped. He sighed heavily.
My dear little Jane, why must you make things so difficult for me?
He would have to spend his valuable time ensuring the police, Counselor Mayuri, and any psychiatrists who might become involved kept quiet. The very thought gave him a headache. He’d had enough distractions for one day—the bothersome last-minute meeting with an exasperating client, the unexpected visit from maintenance to update the internal defense guns on his ceiling, the urgent call from a subordinate in the Eryatian system.
Victor wasn’t too concerned about his daughter. Jane was a good child, if a foolish one. Thanks to advances in medicine, she would be all right once she received treatment. He was more concerned that Devin hadn’t paid her enough attention to notice signs of her illness. As much as he cared about her, Victor was too busy to watch over Jane and had told Devin to look after his little sister. If Devin had done so properly, the situation with the police would have been prevented.
“Inbox,” Victor barked at his computer. An abnormally large proportion of the unread communications had been sent by his son. Odd. “Show missed communications from Devin Colt.”
The computer pulled up a long list, beginning the previous evening. The latest attempt to reach him had been twenty minutes ago. They all contained the same request for an audience. No doubt it concerned Jane’s incident.
Victor leaned back in his chair and put his feet on his desk, looking blankly past the transparent walls of his office. Devin clearly knew what had happened. He should have taken care of it himself.
Very disappointing indeed.
But it was a minor misstep. Compared to the disaster Devin had once been, the current lack of responsibility was no reason for concern. On every other front, Devin was finally becoming the person he was supposed to be. He had much room for improvement, but Victor nonetheless prided himself on the work he had done with his son. His persistence had transformed a thoughtless, out-of-control youth into an elite young professional.
Devin had been disobedient as a child, and Victor and his wife had made it clear that they expected more. The boy’s schoolwork had improved, but around the age of twelve, he had become the kind of nightmare adolescent every parent dreaded. It began with a few routine attitude problems. From there, it spun out exponentially, exploding into a near decade of mayhem.
There’s nothing more heartbreaking than to realize the child one
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