CHAPTER 3: Names Written in Dust

For six months, Preston had used the same word in every boardroom: decline.
Elias was declining. Elias was forgetful. Elias could no longer understand modern logistics, debt structures, liability exposure, digital routing, or anything else Preston dressed in expensive language.
The truth was simpler. Elias had asked too many questions.
He asked why old driver pensions had been moved. He asked why a warehouse in Nevada was refinanced through a shell company. He asked why Preston’s signature appeared beside documents Elias never approved.
Every question made the family softer in public and harder behind closed doors.
That morning, they had brought him papers and called them retirement documents. Elias had refused to sign. By evening, Preston chose the desert.