Damien's second book took longer to write than the first.
It was more introspective. More painful. It traced generational trauma through his family across three generations.
He interviewed extended family members. He researched his grandfather's business practices. He tried to understand how good people became complicit in bad systems.
Emma watched him struggle with it. Some days he couldn't write at all. Some days he wrote for twelve hours straight.
"This one is harder," he told her one night.
"Why?" Emma asked.
"Because it's not just about exposing corruption," Damien said. "It's about understanding how I became the kind of man who could hurt you. It's about taking responsibility for my own choices instead of blaming them on my family."
Emma understood. She was doing similar work
