Marble Hands & Granite Fists

“Are you sure?”

“Y-Yes, Mr. Wright. There is no mistake. I performed the autopsy myself.”

“Why did you not come to me immediately with this?”

There was a terse silence as the man on the other line weighed his options. Each second that passed filled Leyton Wright with a resurging mixture of disbelief, anger, & betrayal. How could this be? Their family was always so careful to make sure something like this would never happen. They scrutinized each and every hired servant. They tested anything that ever came within ten feet of a family member. It was unthinkable that anybody would ever get close enough to attempt such a cowardly move, least of all to Dalton Wright. The most vigilantly guarded man in all of Avalon City.

The piercing sound of a buzzsaw screeched on the other line and after a panicked gasp, more words finally followed. “PLEASE! I - I meant no deception sir I swear it. It's because I was told to remain silent while the family would handle the situation internally.”

Internally? To stage a cover-up of the incident? That would certainly make sense in terms of preserving the company’s reputation. If the public were to ever catch wind that the patriarch of Avalon’s oldest and most influential real estate syndicate fell victim to a measly poisoning scheme, their rivals would sense blood in the water and immediately start sending their lobbyists into the city council to demand approval grants for territory that should indisputably belong to the Wright family. But even if that was the case, it was infeasible that this news would not have been immediately passed to Leyton. He was Dalton’s eldest son and now the new head of the family upon his father’s untimely passing. Who could've possibly had the authority and the audacity to coerce the coroner into hiding a vital truth from him? He thanked whatever gods were out there that he had the foresight to suspect that something was amiss from the beginning. Just days after hearing the news that his father had suddenly collapsed from a heart attack, Leyton had decided to send Cyrus, his younger brother and closest confidant, to track down the coroner for absolute confirmation about his father’s demise.

Leyton’s mind began racing through all the potential culprits: a board member who had become overindulged on their own hubris, or perhaps a disgruntled cousin from a branch family. Then, a soft voice cut through the chaos.

“Honey? They’re expecting you soon.”

Leyton looked up and admired the beautiful figure of his wife Bella in front of him. Standing tall and proud at five feet ten inches, she came just up to Leyton’s shoulders. Her skin was a deep shade of bronze, and her voluminous jet-black hair was parted to the side, cascading down her chest. Aside from her height, she was a stark contrast to her husband, who was several shades lighter and had short brown curls which were easy to maintain. For tonight’s occasion, Bella had donned a simple, elegant blue dress and opted to carry only a small, silver clutch, not wanting to overdo her outfit on a night that was awkwardly trying to balance the celebratory rise of a new family head with the respectful mourning that lingered over the loss of the prior head.

“Handle the rest Cy. I have to go now”. With that, Leyton hung up the phone, embraced his wife with a kiss, and started heading back towards the event hall.

___________________________________________

Avalon City was the golden standard that all metropolises strived to be. Hulking skyscrapers, overcrowded streets, ruthless residents, and endless opportunities. All controlled under the watchful management of the city council, 80% of which was comprised of individuals who also sat on the board of directors of Avalon’s three largest real estate conglomerates: Wright Realty & Co., Sterling Heights Development, and Evergreen Properties Group. In the chaos of this city, where trendy new restaurants surrounded historical urban landmarks, nightlife establishments bled into gentrified townhome communities, and industrial chemical plants speckled every major port on the coastline, nothing ever set down roots in Avalon without explicit approval from the council members, each of whom filled their pockets with hefty distributions from their affiliations to the “big three”.

For 45 years, Dalton Wright had led Wright Realty & Co. through its most profitable era in over three centuries. In the family, there was a saying: marble hands to build, and granite gloves to rule. Dalton was a natural political charmer, able to sweet-talk even those council members who were publicly known to be in the pockets of Sterling and Evergreen. And with his massive six-foot-eight-inch stature that towered over others, he emanated an unyielding resolve that could command respect from the unruliest associates who worked in the company’s “tenant safety and enforcement” department.

Although Dalton’s health declined in the later years of his life, his lifelong legacy continued to keep the Wrights at the forefront of Avalon, and up to his very last breath, he seemed to be a truly invincible force that would dominate the city in perpetuity. Even his oldest son Leyton who should’ve had more awareness than anybody about his father’s mortality and the consequences it would have on his own life seemed to be dismissive of the idea that he would one day have to take over the reigns.

Leyton was not a particularly shrewd nor ruthless leader like his father, but he knew how to keep all the most important people around him happy, exuding a regal aura that was reminiscent of his mother Gale, a socialite and former heiress to Titan Forge Industries, the largest metalworks company in Avalon.

Dalton and Gale’s second son Cyrus, born two years after Leyton, bore a strong physical resemblance to Dalton and had almost as much business acumen as the old man himself. And had the brothers grown up in any other family, Cyrus might have been enticed to try to outdo Leyton, leaning on his closer likeness to their legendary father as a means to further his own ambitious gain. But to Wright Realty & Co, those efforts would have been fruitless: one, because the company could barely spare a second thought about a reality in which Dalton would no longer be at the helm, and two, because no sane person would ever want to inherit a throne that would forever reek of its predecessor. And so instead, the brothers learned to stand together in solidarity as “Dalton’s sons”, knowing that there was only one other person in the world who could understand the immense feeling of frustration and futility that came with being so insignificant that two radically different people like themselves would somehow be thought of as two peas in a pod.

Leyton attended every board meeting at his father’s side from the moment he turned 16, learning the ins and outs of their family’s empire, while Cyrus quickly made a name for himself as one of the most zealous enforcers that the tenant safety department had ever seen. Leyton then met Bella two months before his 30th birthday at a company-sponsored charity benefit. He was making his usual rounds of small talk and giving light compliments to the various employees and department heads in attendance. When he had come around to pay his respects to the head of marketing, he was firmly rebuked.

“Excuse me, we’re in the middle of a conversation.” Bella had said with as much nonchalance as one would have when speaking to a regular colleague.

“Oh. Of course. How rude of me. Please, carry on then.” Leyton had never felt so scolded, not even by his own mother. Once the head of marketing had recomposed himself, he unleashed his barely contained fury at Bella, who could only stare at the man’s blistering red face in utter confusion as he repeatedly swore that he would have her fired for her transgression. Ten months after the benefit, that same head of marketing was drunkenly telling other guests at Leyton and Bella’s wedding that it was actually through his grand machinations that the pair came to find each other in the first place.

Seven years later, the happy couple were now in the throes of the most significant changeover in the company’s entire history. Leyton wished he had more time to process everything that was happening around him. He had only confided his suspicions to Cyrus a week before tonight’s gala, and although his brother had been swift to investigate and uncover a harrowing conspiracy that their father might have been poisoned on the night he had passed, he had no time now to process the idea. All of Avalon’s eyes were watching him as he stepped onto the stage: the company’s executives, the enforcers, and most importantly, every single member of the city council. Leyton braced himself before starting the eulogy he had prepared, fully aware that history would now decide if this moment would mark the beginning of the second act for his family’s golden era or the beginning of its demise.

___________________________________________

“Has it been handled now?”

“Of course. You would question my work?”

“Considering you actually brought Lang in front of him instead of anyone else who could’ve fabricated a different story, yes I do.”

Cyrus audibly scoffed. “You underestimate your dear husband. Trust me, if he already asked me personally to look into this, he would never have bought a shitty fake story from some random asshat.”

Bella rubbed the bridge of her nose and sighed. Her brother-in-law was always a difficult man to deal with, never failing to provoke her worst competitive instincts. 

“So you presented him with the truth then? What do you think would have happened if I hadn’t been here to cut you off? Would you have continued the charade until Lang was forced to give up my name?”

“Well, I would hope that you train your men as well as I do mine. You swore him into silence did you not? It shouldn’t matter what I would have done then.”

Such an overgrown child Bella thought. Insolent and belligerent no matter the circumstances.

“He might still figure it out now, you know. How many other people could have possibly gotten that close to your father? And if he finds out, what do you suppose he’ll do?”

“Nothing. He’s too soft. Always has been. That’s why Da refused to let go even when he could barely wipe his own ass towards the end. Old bastard insisted on trying to outlive his own son just so the world would keep saying our name in fear for as long as possible.”

On that point, she could agree with him. For years now, Wright & Co. had been kept frozen in place by a senile man who desperately clung to the torch of his own former glory, enabled by other aging men who lived vicariously through their beloved leader. Worst of all, she watched as her beloved sat idly by, allowing it all to happen. The love of her life, once filled with true youthfulness and vigor in his eyes, had now dwindled into a dull, complacent shadow of a man. When they had said their vows to each other seven years ago, she swore to give her whole self to him and to have his back no matter what came between them. And Bella refused to see any more of Leyton fade away. She’d rip the torch off that old husk and burn the empire down to start anew if that’s what it took to reclaim their lives. Legacy be damned.