Chapter 11 - The Bankruptcy Auction
By the end of the month,
Daniel’s personal belongings,
sports cars,
designer watches,
and luxury penthouse apartment contents
were put up for public bankruptcy auction.
Crowds gathered outside the auction house downtown.
Eager to witness the final liquidation
of a fallen empire.
I walked through the exhibition hall
accompanied by Elliot Hayes.
Glass cases displayed Daniel’s prized possessions.
The gold-plated Rolex Claire had gifted him
on their fifth wedding anniversary.
The custom golf clubs.
The framed photographs of his corporate achievements.
An auctioneer stood on the elevated podium,
banging his wooden gavel.
Lot forty-two,
he called out.
A collection of designer luxury goods.
Do I hear ten thousand?
Sold,
to the estate of Claire Mercer.
I had bought back every single item
he had ever received from our family.
Not to keep them,
but to melt them down,
discard them,
and erase every trace of his existence
from our legacy.
Daniel stood across the street,
watching from behind a police barricade.
Wrapped in a cheap gray hoodie,
looking hollowed out and defeated.
Our eyes met across the asphalt.
He took a step forward,
as if to speak,
then stopped.
Realizing there were no words left in the universe
that could bridge the chasm he had created.
May you like
He turned his collar up against the wind
and walked away into the gray city fog.
