The Last Option
Chapter Fifty-One: No Options

Bernard had come to Phil Wilcox's office to discuss the options surrounding little Nathan's inheritance. He did not want to stop insisting on that aspect, and now he was analyzing, with him, the possible actions to be taken in the future. "I'm sorry to tell you the options are very few, if not none," Phil said.

Bernard felt a little disappointed to hear Phil say that, but he didn't want to give up.

"There must be something we can do, Phil. Something."

"I've been thinking about it all these months, and I've also been consulting other experts on the matter, but there really isn't much we can do."

"And that's it? It's over?"

"Listen, Bernard, I know more than anyone that this child deserves to have everything that belonged to his parents, but the law doesn't give me many options to act. In the first place, the filiation petition is not viable for the reasons the judge gave at the time, and any other court to which the case is presented again will say the same. In addition, there are certain political and legal conditions that are against it."

"And what are those "conditioning factors" that harm us?"

"First of all, there's the politician: Southern Hilltop Gold has been a major contributor to the campaigns of some politicians and government officials, first with Nathan Hicks at the helm, and now with Louis Randall, and no one they've helped would risk confronting whoever is in charge of it, in this case Randall, even if it is a family issue."

"And what does a judge have to do with politics? That's absurd!"

"Many judges are supported and appointed by politicians, Bernard. In addition, the company's charitable activities go beyond a simple political contribution. It's more complicated than you think."

"I don't think so, Phil, but I'm not going to let you lecture me on politics now anyway. What is the other "conditioning" you mentioned? You said there were political and legal conditions. What are the legal ones?"

"Only one: that you have recognized the child as your son. Although I don't think we made a mistake; that was a step that hindered our options." "In what way?"

"The laws defend and support the family institution a lot. The child was born under marriage, even if we know it was the product of a rental contract for Margaret's womb, the reality is that: he was born to Margaret, and you and she were legally married."

"But that contract was never signed either."

"Here I go: if you had signed that contract and you had alluded to it when the baby was born, saying it was neither biologically nor legally yours or Margaret's, the State would have taken care of him as an orphan and you would have only had the option of adopting him, which would have been very difficult given your status as a widower."

"And what do you want to tell me with that?" Bernard felt the conversation was going nowhere.

"That you did the right thing by presenting him as yours. If you hadn't, who knows where little Nathan would be right now."

"But you haven't told me why it could be an obstacle that I have presented him as a son."

"I already told you, Bernard, because he was born under marriage and you made him your son. No judge will dare harm a legally constituted family, for whatever reason. If you insist on pretending the child wasn't yours but Nathan and Norma Hicks's, we would go back to where we were at the beginning, asking for affiliation, but since there was no family of the deceased interested in asking for it, we would be left at zero, and the baby would continue to be your son."

"You know Phil? All this seems unusual and incredible. I don't know anything about law, but it seems you don't either. I can't believe there aren't more options."

Phil was offended by Bernard's words. He thought about telling him to hell, but he stopped himself. He partly understood his frustration, and he shared it. At times he had felt that way too.

"Don't take it out on me, Bernard. I'm just as upset and frustrated as you are, and no matter how much I think about it, I can't replace an option that doesn't present a barrier."

Bernard was silent for a moment in front of Phil. Thinking. Both thinking.

"If we had caught Nathan and Norma's killer, and shown it was just that: a murder, maybe things would have been different," Bernard muttered, annoyed.

Phil looked at him for a few seconds with an annoyed face. In his opinion, Bernard did not want to understand things.

He tried to make him see the reality they were facing. Again.

"Catching the killer wouldn't have done any good, Bernard. If they had caught this guy and told them who hired him, they both would be in prison and Rebecca Hicks would still be Nathan's heir unless she was proven complicit in the murder. Although it seems incredible to us and it's difficult for us to admit it, Rebecca loved her brother despite being estranged. She wouldn't lend herself to something like that. Louis Randall does, but she doesn't."

"What if it was Louis Randall, and she knew of his plans?"

"I repeat: she wouldn't have agreed to that. Rebecca Hicks may be capricious, frivolous and cold, but she's not an accessory to murder. If she were to choose between Nathan and Louis, she would without hesitation choose Nathan. If she had known that someone was preparing the death of her brother, even Randall, she would surely have handed him over to the police."

Bernard thought then the risk he had taken with Duncan was in vain, that it would have done nothing for little Nathan's well-being to prove Louis Randall had his parents murdered. He was somewhat comforted to think that for the boy it wouldn't have meant anything, but for his friends it would, by obtaining justice for their deaths.

"At least it would have served to convict those responsible," he said after a while, rising from his chair and preparing to leave.

"That's right," Phil agreed. "Catching him would have at least served to give the Hicks justice." "That's what I said."

Bernard shook Phil's hand and left.

He decided to take a little walk to clear his mind and think a little more about what he could do from now on. He walked for a long time without realizing where he was going. It was late afternoon and the atmosphere was cool, ideal to continue walking. When he realized he was coming to Riverside Park, he decided to gaze at the Hudson River for a while. For an instant, he noticed the people around him, the area was somewhat crowded. There were people exercising, others walking and walking their pets, children playing with their parents. For an instant, his gaze was fixed on a pair of lovers near him; it was a young couple, who he thought must not have been more than twenty-four or twenty-five years old, and by the way they spoke and looked at each other, they seemed very close. He watched them kiss, and from the way they did it he could see there was also a lot of tenderness between them. He thought for a moment about Margaret, and realized that at some point they too could have seen each other like this, bonded and in love, full of tenderness and passion. He felt sadness again and tried to dismiss the feeling so as not to feel overwhelmed, which he had barely managed these last few months with Camila, whom he decided to think about to feel better.

Thinking of her, he found himself with very nice thoughts, because as far as he knew her, she was a sweet, delicate and cheerful girl. She is a tireless and punctual worker. She always had a smile on her face, which also reminded her of little Nathan, who was the champion of laughs. Even when he was vaccinated, he did not stop laughing, surprising locals and strangers. For him, the best thing that could have happened to that adorable baby and that optimistic girl was to have met, because they were made for each other, and between the two they made his life happy.

He kept looking at the couple in love and, without knowing why, he found himself thinking about Nathan and Norma, how in love they were, and their unfortunate death. He too thought of Rebecca Hicks and everyone's description of her: a loose, carefree, capricious, arrogant, materialistic way of being. Someone who may never marry or have children, because she should not be interested in either one or the other. It would be unfortunate if, after her death, the Hicks estate was left without heirs, he thought.

And then he came up with an option to make little Nathan inherit what belongs to him. An option he did not like very much, but that he would be willing to put into practice in order to return his heritage to the child.

He would also be throwing his relationship with Camila out the window, which would hurt him a lot, unless she understood and supported what he was thinking of doing, and she was willing to wait for him.