Harrison: David, please... accept my deepest apologies for my daughter's disgraceful behavior.
Harrison Croft, a white-haired man in an expensive charcoal suit, sat across from David in the private dining room of an upscale downtown hotel.
David: Apologies don't fix the fact that she tried to steal my son's inheritance trust, Harrison.
Harrison: I know. I was blind to what she was doing. Ever since Catherine died, Victoria became obsessed with taking over the family fortune.
David: She physically threatened Sarah in my home. She tried to strike my son.
Harrison: If I had known she was capable of such cruelty, I would have sent her away years ago.
David: The district attorney is moving forward with the federal fraud charges next week.
Harrison: I won't use my legal team to protect her, David. She needs to face the consequences of her actions.
David: Thank you, Harrison. I appreciate your honesty.
Harrison pulled a gold pen and a leather-bound checkbook from his inside jacket pocket, placing them on the table between them.
Harrison: I want to make amends to the young woman who protected my grandson.
David: Sarah doesn't want your money, Harrison.
Harrison: It's not a bribe, David. It's an educational trust fund for her future.
David: Educational trust fund?
Harrison: I spoke with my private investigator yesterday. Sarah was a top nursing student at the state university before her parents died in a car accident three years ago.
David looked at Harrison in surprise, his brows rising as he listened to the old man's words.
David: She had to drop out of nursing school to pay off her family's debts?
Harrison: Yes. She worked eighteen-hour days cleaning houses to pay off every single penny of her late parents' medical bills.
David: She never mentioned any of that to me. She just worked quietly every single day without complaining.
Harrison: This check for five hundred thousand dollars will cover her tuition, her living expenses, and set up a private scholarship in her name.
David: Why are you doing this, Harrison?
Harrison: Because she showed my grandson the unconditional love that my own daughter was too selfish to give him.
David reached across the table and picked up the check, looking at the bold black ink signature at the bottom.
David: I'll make sure she gets this today. But you should give it to her in person.
Harrison: Would... would she let me see Timmy again?
David: Timmy misses his grandfather. Come to the house for dinner tonight, Harrison.
Harrison's eyes welled with tears as he wiped his glasses with a silk handkerchief, nodding his head slowly.
Harrison: Thank you, David. Thank you for giving an old man a second chance to do what's right.