Chapter 2

My brother, Kevin, was a special kind of failure. He wasn't just lazy; he was proud of it. He saw hard work as something for other, lesser people.

Before my first company went under, I'd given him seed money for three different "start-ups." The first was a gourmet dog food delivery service. He spent the entire two hundred thousand dollars on a luxury office and a company car for himself before ever delivering a single bag of kibble. The second was a "revolutionary" social media app that was just a bad copy of Instagram. That cost me half a million. The third, I don't even remember. I just remember signing the check and feeling a familiar sense of dread. He burned through it all and blamed the market, his employees, the weather-everyone but himself.

So when he showed up at my company's victory party, I knew it wasn't to congratulate me.

He cornered me by the bar, his eyes scanning the expensive decor with open envy. "Big shot now, huh, Ethan?"

"What do you want, Kevin?"

"What do I want?" He laughed, a bitter, ugly sound. "I want what's mine. A piece of this. I'm your brother. I should be a partner, not a guest."

"You had your chances," I said calmly. "Three of them, to be exact. They cost me over a million dollars I didn't have."

His face twisted in anger. "That was your investment! It's not my fault they didn't work out! If you'd given me more money, they would have been huge!"

"No, they wouldn't have. Because you don't know how to work."

"You watch your mouth," he snarled, getting closer. "You think you're better than us now? Don't forget where you came from. I can make things very difficult for you. A word here, a word there... people might start to wonder about the 'miracle' of Phoenix Innovations."

I just looked at him. "I remember something you told me once, Kevin. Right after you spent the last of the money for your second 'start-up.' I was trying to talk to you about responsibility, about family. You told me family is just a word people use to get what they want. You said, 'Money is the only real family, Ethan. The only thing that never leaves you.'"

His face went pale. He remembered.

"So don't you dare come here and talk to me about being brothers," I said, my voice low. "According to you, we're not family. We're just a business transaction you failed to profit from."

Before he could answer, a loud voice cut through the party's buzz. "Ethan! There you are!"

It was my mother. She, along with my father, was marching toward us, a triumphant look on her face as if she owned the place. She had somehow gotten past security.

"Everyone!" she announced to the room at large. "I am Martha Miller, Ethan's mother! It's so wonderful to see my son's success. He gets his business sense from his father, you know!"

She tried to grab the microphone from the stage manager. My partner, Olivia Reed, stepped smoothly in her way. Olivia was the sharpest person I knew, the rock who had helped me build Phoenix from the ground up.

"Ma'am, this is a private corporate event," Olivia said, her voice polite but firm.

"I'm his mother!" Martha snapped, trying to push past her.

I stepped forward and put a hand on my mother's arm. It was surprisingly frail. "You need to leave. Now."

"What?" Her eyes widened in disbelief.

"You are not welcome here," I said, making sure my voice was clear and loud enough for my team to hear. "You are not part of my company. You are not part of my life. You are strangers."

The color drained from her face. My team, loyal and aware of my history, simply turned their backs on the scene, ignoring her completely. They trusted me.

"You can't do this!" she shrieked, her voice cracking. "He's an ungrateful son! A monster! He's throwing his own mother out!"

"Security," I said, my voice level. Two large men appeared instantly.

They gently but firmly started to escort my parents and a sputtering Kevin toward the exit.

As they were being led away, Kevin turned and screamed at me, his face contorted with hate. "You'll regret this, Ethan! I swear to God, you will burn for this!"

The doors closed behind them, leaving a stunned silence in their wake. The party was over.