CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE #2
“Then you've made this situation significantly worse,” Greg said. “For yourself and for the team.”
“We’re trying to help you, Easton,” Janet added. “This statement gives you a way out. A way to move forward without destroying your career.”
“By throwing Palisade to the wolves.”
“By protecting yourself,” Marcus said. “Which is what you should be doing.”
I closed the folder and stood. “I need to think about it.”
“You have twenty-four hours,” Greg reminded me. “After that, we move forward with or without your cooperation.”
I nodded and left the conference room, my mind racing.
After the meeting, I sat in my truck, the worn seat offering little comfort as I stared at the dashboard. Two paths stretched out in front of me.
Sign the statement. Apologize for the optics. Keep my head down, rebuild my image, and probably get the captaincy back, eventually. Play it safe.
Or…
Tell the truth. Issue a statement defending Palisade, calling out the harassment, clarifying that Casey was never a secret, but the daughter I never knew I had. Risk everything I’d built for a chance to do the right thing.
I thought about Casey’s question this morning, the text Palisade had sent me.
Is this because of me? Because I’m a surprise?
I thought about Palisade’s words. I don’t know how to fix this.
I thought about Dr. Reyes’s question, the one I’d been wrestling with for weeks. What kind of father did I want to be?
I pulled out my phone and called Dr. Reyes’s office. His assistant answered.
“Hi, this is Easton Henley. I know I don’t have an appointment scheduled, but I need to talk to Dr. Reyes. Is there any way he can squeeze me in today?”
There was a pause, some keyboard clicking. “He has an opening at two. Can you make that?”
“I’ll be there.”
Dr. Reyes’s office looked the same as always, with comfortable chairs, soft lighting, and the faint scent of coffee. He greeted me with his usual calm demeanor, but I could see the concern in his eyes.
“You sounded urgent on the phone,” he said once we settled. “What’s going on?”
I told him everything. The clinic invasion. Casey’s fear. My rage at the photographer. The meeting with management. The suspended captaincy. And the sanitized statement they wanted me to sign.
“And now I have a choice,” I finished. “Sign their statement, which basically admits I was wrong to defend my family. Or issue my statement telling the truth, which will probably cost me everything.”
Dr. Reyes was quiet, his expression thoughtful. “Let’s break this down. What do you think will happen if you sign their statement?”
“The media storm dies down. I keep playing. Probably get the captaincy back in a few weeks or months. My career stays on track.”
“And what happens to Palisade and Casey?”
I exhaled slowly. “They keep getting harassed. The narrative stays the same: that she’s a gold digger, that Casey was a secret, that I’m some kind of victim in all this.”
“And if you issue your own statement?”
“I lose the captaincy permanently. Possibly lose my place on the team. Tank my reputation with management. But…” I paused, trying to articulate what I was feeling.
“Casey would see me defend her and her mother publicly. Palisade would know I’m not ashamed of them.
The harassment might get worse before it gets better, but at least people would hear the truth. ”
“So, one choice protects your career. The other choice protects your family.”
“Basically, yeah.”
“Easton, what do you think your father would have done in this situation?”
The question made me flinch. “My father would have done whatever benefited him most. Which would have been signing the statement and moving on.”
“And what did that teach you?”
I knew where he was going with this. “That career always comes first. That image matters more than integrity.”
“Do you believe that?”
“No.” The answer came quickly, surprising me. “No, I don’t.”
“Then why are you even considering it?”
“Because it’s the smart play. I’ve worked my entire life for this career. And throwing it away feels insane.”
Dr. Reyes leaned forward. “Let me ask you something else. A year from now, five years from now, when Casey asks you about this moment, what do you want to tell her? That you chose your career over defending her? Or that you chose her, even when it cost you?”
My throat tightened. “Put that way…”
“There is no other way to put it, Easton. This isn’t about the statement or the captaincy. It’s about who you want to be as a father. And based on everything you’ve told me over the past months, I think you already know the answer.”
I sat with that for a long moment. He was right. I knew what I wanted to do. I was just terrified of the consequences.
“I’m still angry at Palisade,” I admitted. “For keeping Casey from me. For making choices that cost me years with my daughter. I haven’t forgiven her for that, and I don’t know if I ever fully will.”
“You can be angry at someone and still protect them,” Dr. Reyes said gently.
“Those emotions aren’t mutually exclusive.
You can hold Palisade accountable for her choices while also recognizing that she’s being unfairly attacked now.
You can grieve the years you lost while also fighting for the years you have left. ”
“What if I issue the statement and everything falls apart? What if I lose my career and she still doesn’t want me in her life the way I want to be?”
“Then you’ll still have done the right thing for Casey. You’ll have shown your daughter that family comes first, that love means sacrifice, that integrity matters more than image.” He paused. “What kind of man do you want Casey to see you be?”
I thought about Casey watching me on TV. Thought about her hearing the safe statement that apologized for defending her. Thought about what that would teach her about her worth, about whether she was someone worth fighting for.
Then I thought about the alternative. About her seeing me stand up and say publicly: Yes, she’s my daughter. Yes, I take responsibility. Yes, I’ll defend her and her mother no matter what it costs me. Because they’re worth it.
“I want her to see me be better than my father was,” I said.
“Then what kind of statement reflects that choice?”
I sat with the question for a long moment. The safest statement would protect everything I’d worked for professionally. The genuine statement would cost me everything.
But Casey would see it. Casey would see me choose them publicly, despite the cost. She’d learn that love meant sacrifice, that family came first, that her father would take a hit for her and her mother.
And Palisade… Palisade would see that I meant it. That, despite my anger, despite the hurt, I was choosing us.
“The real one,” I said. “I’m going to issue my statement. The one that tells the truth. That I take responsibility for the lost years, that Palisade isn’t a gold digger, that Casey is a privilege, not a problem. Even if it costs me.”
Dr. Reyes smiled. “That’s growth, Easton. Painful growth.”
“It might cost me everything.”
“Or it might give you everything that actually matters.”
We talked for another thirty minutes about how to manage the anger while choosing love, about how to set boundaries with the media, about how to talk to Casey about all of this. By the time I left Dr. Reyes’s office, I felt steadier. Not less scared, but more certain.
I sat in my truck and pulled out my phone. Typed out a message to Palisade.
Me:
I need to see you tonight. We need to talk.
Palisade:
Okay. My parents can watch Casey. What’s this about?
I stared at the message, trying to figure out how to explain over text that I was about to blow up my career for her. That I was still angry but chose her, anyway. That everything was about to change.
Me:
Us. This whole mess. What happens next.
Palisade:
Okay. Come by at 8.
I pocketed my phone and started the truck.
Tomorrow, I’d issue the statement that would change everything.
Tonight, I had to tell Palisade what I was about to do.
And hoped she understood what I was choosing and what it was costing me.