It was Mom’s phone that eventually interrupted the crying festivities. There was a loud chirping from the counter by the stove, telling her she had a new text message, and a few moments later, Mr. Delaney’s phone started to ring. So we all parted ways. Mom to check her phone, Mr. Delaney stepping into the living room to answer his, and Anna and Em blinking at each other with matching red splotchy faces.

  Anna wiped at her face with the sleeves of her long-sleeved shirt. “God, I’m a mess.”

  Emmaline snorted as she went over to grab a tissue box on the counter closest to the living room. She took out a tissue for herself and handed the box to Anna. “I think we will all be a mess for a while.”

  “Thanks,” Anna said as she took the box.

  “It’s Eric,” Mom said from across the kitchen. “He says his leave already got approved. And he’s working on getting a plane up here by this afternoon. He said not to worry about picking him up; he’ll get a cab.”

  “He got leave already?” Anna spoke up. “I talked to him briefly by text last night. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to get up here for a few weeks. Apparently, his CO was having a fit about him leaving before the mission.”

  “Well, he says he’s coming.” Mom said as a concerned look came over her face. “What did you tell him?”

  “I didn’t say anything about what Dad told me, if that’s what you want to know. That’s why I kept it to text instead of calling him. I figured you’d tell Eric when he got up here.”

  Mom nodded. I could tell by her face that she wasn’t happy at that prospect, and after everything Emmaline had heard this morning, she didn’t blame her.

  “That was Eric,” Mr. Delaney came back into the kitchen. “He got his leave approval and wanted to know if he could have the company plane come get him.”

  “Didn’t Melody take it to Tokyo for the week?” Mom asked.

  Melody was the third partner at New Horizons and didn’t have much to do with the day to day running of the business or even stayed in New York more than a few months out of the year. She was mostly the money woman, or so Dad called her. Emmaline had met her only a handful of times in her entire life. Melody Gram was a very no-nonsense kind of woman, and Em wasn’t sure how she’d react to hearing the true origins of her family.

  Mr. Delaney nodded. “Yes, but I told her about Arie’s stroke, so she’s canceling her meetings and returning. Though she won’t be back until tomorrow sometime. I don’t think Eric wants to wait that long. He said he’s going to try for a civilian flight.”

  “Not a military flight?” Mom asked.

  “None available.”

  “I see.”

  There was a pause in the conversation, and they all stood there a bit awkwardly until Mr. Delaney spoke up again. “And actually, I can’t stay long. There’s a lot that needs to be done. I’m sure you’ve seen the news today.”

  Mom nodded. “Yes, how bad is it going to get?”

  “Well, I’d say things might stabilize after the initial news passes about Arie being in the hospital and we keep New Horizons going strong even without him, but…”

  “But you’re worried about people finding out the truth about us,” Mom finished.

  John’s face took on a grim expression. “I’m not going to lie to you, Cassie. That sort of thing can kill a business with no chance of resuscitation. And quite frankly, I’m rather surprised Arie didn’t plan for such a thing. He normally plans for everything.”

  Mom put up a hand. “Just a moment.” She walked past Mr. Delaney and ran upstairs.

  That left the three of them in the kitchen staring at each other. The sound of the rooster clock kept time of how long Mom was gone. It ticked and tocked for a full minute before she came back down. She had a Manila folder in her hand.

  “That should be everything you need,” she said, handing it over.

  Mr. Delaney opened the folder and leafed through it. “What is this?”

  “Arie’s official resignation as CEO and everything you need to liquidate his share of the business.”

  Mr. Delaney looked up at Mom incredulously, and so did Emmaline and Anna.

  “Liquidate?” Mr. Delaney’s voice cracked. “Cassie, you can’t be serious. This company is Arie’s legacy. Hell, the company wouldn’t even exist if it weren’t for him.”

  “I understand that, but he also knew that if our secret came out, it might significantly affect the business. When he came up with the idea for New Horizons, he never intended for it to get as big as it did. It was just a way for us to make a living here and for Arie to give back to the planet that had become our new home. He did not want his connection to it to destroy what he had built, so he put together that file in case there was ever a chance our secret might get out.”

  Mr. Delaney closed the folder, his fingers pressed against the smooth surface as if trying to contain what was inside. “I can’t accept this, Cassie. Not yet. We don’t even know how long Arie might take to recover, and the secret might never get out.”

  “John—” Mom began, but Mr. Delaney shook his head.

  “At least let’s wait until we have a definite prognosis on his condition.”

  Mom pressed her lips together, but nodded. “Fine, but keep the folder just in case.”

  Mr. Delaney hesitated and then put it under his arm. His phone rang again. He looked down at the call number. “It’s Jack Rose, I need to take this.” He turned around and went back into the living room.

  Stolen story; please report.

  Jack Rose was the chief operating officer and the person most likely to take over the company while Dad was out. He was a good friend of the family too, though not as close as the Delaneys.

  “Are we really going to let go of the business?” Emmaline asked.

  “That’s what your dad wanted if things got messy,” Mom said.

  “But I thought Michael was going to take it over?”

  Mom gave Emmaline a pointed look. “Well, that’s not going to happen now.”

  “But what if he comes back?” Emmaline asked, feeling as her world had shifted yet again. What would her family be without the company? Dad seemed to live, eat and breathe New Horizons, and Michael had been just as dedicated. Her brother couldn’t wait until he got his degrees at MIT so he could work as an engineer there.

  Mom shook her head sadly. “Even if he did, he has bigger aspirations now.”

  “You mean being Emperor,” Emmaline said flatly. “I’m sorry, Mom, but I’m really having a hard time believing that.”

  There. She had said it out loud. She’d been thinking it ever since her mom had revealed who Michael’s birth father was and why he wanted Michael back so badly. Sure, Emmaline could see her brother running a company maybe someday in the future, but a whole freaking Empire? The idea just seemed… ludicrous. Michael could barely run his own life sometimes, let alone a galactic empire spanning countless star systems. The Michael she knew left his socks on the floor, stayed up too late playing video games, and had once set fire to the kitchen trying to make mac and cheese. True story!

  “I know it’s difficult to imagine right now,” Mom said, her voice softening. “But there are things about Michael you don’t fully understand. With the right training and enough time, he will be very capable of the job, and that’s why his father wants him so badly.”

  “Can you tell me about his day yesterday?” Anna spoke up from the table. She had been so quiet that Emmaline almost forgot she was still there. “What did he do? What did he say?”

  Mom went back to the table and sat down. “Where do you want me to start?”

  “At the beginning. Did you make breakfast for him like you usually do?”

  Mom smiled, which was more sad than happy. “Yes, and that was the last normal moment I had with him right before he and Arie went off to work.”

  “Tell me about it, and then tell me everything that led him to getting on that ship,” Anna asked. The tears were gone now, but she still grasped a tissue in her hands and was twisting it around like she was attempting to strangle it.

  Mom took a deep breath and plunged into her story. Emmaline dazed out about that time. She knew most of it already. All but the breakfast part. Dad and Michael were always up before her, had breakfast and gone to work by the time she came downstairs. Em decided she didn’t want to relive yesterday again and went upstairs to get her purse and coat. She knew they would leave for the hospital soon.

  Em passed Mr. Delaney talking emphatically on the phone in the living room and raced upstairs. Once in her room, she let out a sigh. It was good to be alone for a few minutes. Already it was shaping up to be a tough day, but at least Mr. Delaney and Anna hadn’t left in a huff declaring they never wanted to see the Laytons again.

  She went to her purse and stood there a moment to stare at her phone peeking out from the top. How much longer was she going to avoid everyone? Em knew she couldn’t ignore her friends forever, and she was sure Brad was worrying about her. Em pulled it out and hesitated a moment before turning it on.

  Sure enough, as soon as the phone connected to the network, an overwhelming number of texts and voicemails popped up on her screen. Em checked out Brad and then Helen’s. They were pretty much echoing each other in growing concern that they couldn’t contact Emmaline. Until this morning, when the messages shifted to wtf happened to your dad?

  That must have been when Dad’s hospitalization had been plastered all over the news. That was also when the real influx of texts and voicemails started flooding in as well wishes from everyone she knew arrived. Most of them, Em ignored, but the last one from Helen really tugged at Em’s heart.

  I’m really sorry abt what happened to ur dad, I’m here if u need me, just lmk ok?

  Em blew out a deep breath and began to think up a reply. It took a few tries to make sure she didn’t give away anything she shouldn’t, but eventually she sent back a text to Helen.

  Sorry for not responding yesterday was absolute dogshit like I just wanna throw someone off a cliff rn. I’ll tell u abt it later tho since i’m omw to the hospital

  After that, she sent another text to Brad that was similar, but she left out the throwing someone off a cliff part. And then she sent a generic response to her other girlfriends. Once that was done, Em slipped her phone with the ringer turned down low back in her purse, grabbed her coat, and went back downstairs. Mr. Delaney was still on the phone, and Mom was finishing up her story just as Em walked into the kitchen.

  “That’s all I know, Anna,” Mom said as she held her coffee mug in front of her like it was a lifeline. “The last we saw of Michael, he said he had to set things right and rushed out the door. He didn’t tell us exactly where he was going, but I assumed he wanted to catch up with Arie and try to change his mind.

  “Then the next thing we know, Michael sends a text to Emmaline that Arie may have had a stroke and that he was at the farm and we should call 911. I’m not even sure how Michael got out there. Arie took the BMW, and traffic would have made it difficult to catch up to him if Michael had hired an Uber. Arie had a good head start.”

  “Tyler, he called Tyler and had him fly Michael out there. Dad got a call from Tyler yesterday about it,” Anna replied.

  “I see,” Mom said.

  Mr. Delaney strolled back into the kitchen with a frown on his face. “Well, I hate to do this, but I need to get to the office. There’s some business there I need to take care of that can’t wait. Anna, do you want me to drop you at the house?”

  Anna looked at Mom. “Are you going to the hospital?”

  Mom nodded. “Yes, Jeff should be done running the tests by the time we get there.”

  Anna turned to her father. “I think I’m going to go with them. See if there is anything I can do. I had an interest in neurology before I decided to get into pediatrics.”

  “You don’t have to do that, Anna,” Mom said quietly.

  “I want to,” Anna said with determination in her voice. “It’s better than sitting at home crying. Michael sacrificed his life here for Arnold, and while I’m angry about that, it tears me up to think he did it all for nothing. Dad says Doctor Williams isn’t positive that Arnold suffered a stroke. That it might be related to an Ethian condition?”

  Mom nodded. “That’s what I suspect, but Jeff is running more tests to get a better picture of what’s going on.”

  “Then I want to go with you. Maybe another pair of eyes can help.” Anna turned back to her dad. “I will ride with them, and I’m sure they can drop me off at the house when we are done.”

  “Of course,” Mom said.

  Mr. Delaney looked at his daughter with concern. “Are you sure, Hun? You told me you didn’t sleep last night. Maybe you should go home and rest.”

  Anna shook her head. “I’m good, Dad, but thanks.”

  Mr. Delaney nodded, walked over to Anna and kissed the top of her head. “Well, call me if you decide you’ve had enough and need to go home. I don’t mind coming to get you.”

  “I can get a cab, Dad.”

  “Nonsense. Call me if you need a ride. I mean it.”

  Anna nodded. “Alright.”

  Mr. Delaney looked across at table at Mom. “Thanks for talking with us, Cassie. I still have more questions, but they can wait. Just let me know if there’s any change in Arie’s condition.”

  “I will,” Mom said.

  Mr. Delaney turned and stopped beside Emmaline. “Chin up, kiddo. Your dad is a fighter. He’ll get through this.”

  Emmaline smiled at the man. “Thanks, Mr. Delaney.”

  And then he was gone, leaving the three of them in the kitchen with the ticking rooster clock and a thousand unspoken questions hanging in the air.

  Mom finished her coffee in one long gulp and stood up to set the mug in the sink. “We should get going. Jeff said he’d call when the tests were done, but I’d rather be there early.”