Chapter 148
Ethan nodded and didn't press further.
The two of them fell into another brief silence.
A staff member approached Bobby and quietly reminded him that the next part of the ceremony was about to begin.
Bobby lifted his head and looked toward the center of the terrace.
"My turn."
He straightened up and casually adjusted the hem of his suit jacket.
Before leaving, he glanced at Ethan.
"Thanks for coming today, Dr. Rayne. Let's stay in touch."
"Of course," Ethan replied.
"Keep in contact."
Bobby said nothing more and walked toward the center of the terrace.
The crowd gradually quieted down.
He stood behind the podium but didn't speak immediately.
His gaze slowly swept across the faces before him—
Partners.
Colleagues.
Friends.
Finally, his eyes settled on the photograph.
He let out a soft breath.
"People who know me understand that I usually don't attend funerals."
The venue remained completely silent.
"I'm not particularly good at handling…" He paused briefly, searching for the right word.
"…emotional occasions."
"So most of the time, I find ways to avoid them."
"I send flowers. I send food. I arrange everything that needs arranging."
"I've always convinced myself that this was the more rational choice."
"If someone asked why, I'd usually give them an answer that sounded pretty good—"
"We prefer remembering people the way they were when alive. As long as there's no goodbye, it feels like they're still with us."
He paused again, a faint trace of self-mockery appearing at the corner of his mouth.
"Of course… that's mostly bullshit."
"The truth is—"
"I've always been better at moving forward."
"As long as I keep walking, I don't have to deal with the road behind me."
"I don't have to face the things you understand… but can never fix."
"To put it more plainly, I've never been someone trapped by death."
"We all die."
"Donnie just got there before the rest of us."
He stopped once more.
"But this time…"
"There was no way for me to avoid it."
"Because Donnie spent every day staring death in the face."
"What he represented wasn't despair."
"It was courage."
"And hope."
Bobby's voice lowered slightly, but somehow became even more powerful.
"What I feel about his death… isn't really sadness."
"It's anger."
"Anger at my own helplessness."
"Anger that this world has never cared about fairness."
"Donnie was lucky."
"And unlucky."
"But no matter what—"
"I admired him."
"And I'm honored to call him my friend."
Bobby raised his glass.
"To Donnie."
After a brief pause, everyone present lifted their glasses together.
"To Donnie Caan."
Once the memorial concluded, the atmosphere gradually shifted into a reception.
Apparently, it had been Donnie's own request long ago—
Don't drown in grief. Have a drink. Talk to each other.
Honestly… he sounded like a pretty interesting person.
Ethan was preparing to leave when Wendy approached from the other side of the crowd.
She carried a bottle of wine and two glasses in her hand.
She nodded politely at him.
"About earlier… sorry."
"Things happened pretty suddenly. I left without even saying anything."
"It's fine," Ethan replied.
The two of them walked side by side for a short distance, moving away from the crowd before sitting down on a set of nearby steps.
"The man you saw earlier…"
Wendy suddenly said.
"That's my husband."
Her tone was calm and direct, without any buildup at all.
"Chuck Rhoades."
Ethan gave a slight nod.
He had plenty of questions, but he kept his reactions under control and simply listened.
"He's a prosecutor," Wendy continued.
"Very talented at packaging personal obsession as public justice."
She paused briefly before adding,
"He's been investigating Bobby and Axe Capital for a long time."
Now Ethan had even more questions.
Still, he said nothing.
Wendy glanced at him, as if she had expected that exact reaction.
"Insider trading."
"Profiting off information."
"Using non-public intelligence to position ahead of the market."
"All the things that supposedly cross the line."
"Oh…" Ethan murmured.
Then he looked at her again.
This sounded like an entire season's worth of drama.
Your husband investigates your boss.
The two of them glare at each other at a funeral like they're preparing for a duel.
And you're trapped in the middle like the filling in a sandwich.
Why not quit?
Or… replace the husband?
Wendy let out a quiet laugh.
Not the kind born from amusement.
"Chuck doesn't care whether Bobby is a 'bad person' in the traditional sense."
"He only cares about one thing—"
"Whether or not he can keep Bobby Axelrod contained within the rules."
Ethan thought about that for a moment before asking,
"And what about you?"
Wendy stared out across the lake.
Several seconds passed before she answered.
"As Axe Capital's performance coach, I study motivation, impulses, and behavioral patterns."
"I help people."
"I care about people."
Then she turned toward Ethan.
"Even justice shouldn't be allowed to consume every private relationship."
Ethan fell silent briefly.
"So that's why you were so firm earlier?"
So firm about telling her husband to get the hell out.
Though honestly, it made sense.
This was the funeral of an Axe Capital employee.
For Chuck to show up here—
It was wildly inappropriate.
At the very least, it put his wife in an impossible position.
Then again…
Maybe that had been the point.
"Yes," Wendy said quietly.
"This wasn't a place for him to appear."
"Not a stage for him to display power or make a statement."
Her gaze drifted toward Bobby's silhouette in the distance, and her voice lowered slightly.
"He can destroy Bobby in court."
"He can hunt him through the media."
"He can even slowly strangle him through the system itself."
"But not today."
"Not here."
Ethan nodded slowly.
"I understand."
"You're standing in a position where there's no good way forward."
At that moment, a man staggered over toward them.
He had a trimmed mustache, flushed cheeks, and unfocused eyes.
Clearly drunk.
He stopped beside Wendy.
"You okay?"
Wendy looked up at him.
"Just sad."
The man nodded before turning to Ethan.
"Sorry, I don't think we've met."
Wendy introduced them.
"Mike Wagner. Our COO."
"And this is Dr. Rayne. He treated Donnie."
The two men shook hands briefly.
"My condolences," Ethan said.
"Yeah." Mike nodded.
"He was a good guy."
"One of the few people around work who was actually interesting."
Wendy glanced back toward the reception.
"That's true."
"And," Mike added solemnly,
"he was also our gay friend."
Wendy turned toward him.
"Does that really matter?"
"Of course it does," Mike said with complete seriousness.
"Do you realize how hard it is these days to have a gay friend?"
"You're a terrible human being," Wendy said before immediately taking a large swallow of wine.
Ethan couldn't help laughing.