Ethan had driven aimlessly for hours. He didn’t know where he was going—maybe because there was nowhere left to go. The lights of the city blurred past him, neon signs and headlights streaking across his vision like some distant reality he no longer belonged to. His phone sat on the passenger seat, face down, buzzing intermittently with calls and texts he no longer cared to check. Julie had probably tried again. Cara, too, maybe. But it didn’t matter anymore. None of it mattered.
There was something disturbingly quiet in his mind now, a calm that hadn’t been there before. The panic, the constant noise in his head, had dulled to a low hum. It was as if a decision had been made—one that, though unspoken, now filled every part of him. The weight of all his failures had finally settled, a cold and permanent presence in his chest. And with that came a grim sort of peace.
He pulled the car into a vacant lot, its cracked pavement illuminated by a single, flickering streetlight. The place was abandoned, the remnants of an old office building looming ahead like a tombstone for forgotten businesses. It seemed fitting. Ethan parked, leaving the engine running as he stared at the dashboard, his hands resting on the steering wheel.
In the silence, his mind began to drift back. He could remember the beginning—how it had all started with such promise, such optimism. He had wanted to be someone great, someone his family could be proud of. He had worked tirelessly, pushing himself harder and harder to climb the ranks. Every step had been a battle, but he’d told himself it was worth it. It was all for them—for Julie, for the kids, for the future they deserved. But somewhere along the way, he had lost sight of why he was fighting. The victories felt hollow, and the sacrifices—well, they’d taken more from him than he ever thought possible.
He wasn’t sure when it had started. Maybe it had been that first time he cut corners to make the numbers look better than they were. Maybe it was when he’d ignored his gut feeling that the expansion targets were too high. But with each decision, each compromise, the man he thought he was began to slip away. And now? Now, standing on the other side of everything, he couldn’t even recognize the person he had become.
His thoughts circled back to Brad—how easily he’d blamed him, how quickly he had thrown him under the bus to save himself. Brad had been a friend once, or at least something close to it. They had worked together for years, and yet Ethan had discarded him like he was nothing. That night, when Brad had walked out of the office, his career ruined, Ethan had convinced himself it was necessary. But now, sitting alone in his car with nothing left, Ethan knew the truth. He had betrayed Brad. Just as he had betrayed everyone else who had ever believed in him.
Julie’s voice echoed in his mind—We’re still here, Ethan. Me and the kids. We’re still here. But even as those words replayed, they felt distant, almost unreal. How could they still be there for him after everything he had done? After all the lies, the deceit, the anger? He had failed them. Failed as a husband, as a father, as a leader. The idea of going home, of pretending there was anything left to salvage, felt like a lie too big to carry.
The engine idled softly, a low murmur filling the empty lot. Ethan’s eyes fell on the glove compartment. Inside was a reminder of how much his life had changed in recent months—a small handgun, something he had bought on impulse during one of his lowest points, telling himself it was for protection. But now, as he stared at it, he knew it had never been about protection. It had been about control. A way to feel like he had some power over the chaos that had consumed him.
His hand trembled as he reached for the latch, opening the compartment. The cold metal glinted in the dim light, and for a moment, time seemed to slow. His mind raced through the events of the past year—every choice, every mistake, every lie that had led him here. His world had crumbled, piece by piece, and now he was standing in the rubble, alone.
Ethan’s breath hitched as the realization hit him fully. There was no coming back from this. The damage was too great. He had destroyed everything—his career, his reputation, his marriage, his family. He had thought he could control it all, thought he could hold everything together with enough effort, enough willpower. But he had been wrong. And now, there was nothing left to fight for.
He squeezed his eyes shut, his chest tightening as the finality of it all sank in. The Board would move on without him. Julie and the kids would eventually learn to live without him. They’d be better off, wouldn’t they? Better off without the weight of his failure hanging over them.
The quiet in his mind grew heavier, more oppressive. There was no escape from it now. He had come to the end of the road, and this—this was the only way out. It wasn’t about making a decision anymore. The decision had already been made, long before this moment. Every choice, every misstep, every betrayal had led him here.
His hand hovered over the glove compartment, his breathing shallow and ragged. The world outside seemed distant, the hum of the engine fading into the background as his thoughts narrowed to a single, chilling truth. He had failed, in every possible way. And there was no redemption waiting for him on the other side of this. No second chances.
The quiet of the empty lot stretched out, and Ethan sat there, alone in the silence, the weight of his life’s choices pressing down on him like a stone. And in that silence, he knew there was only one thing left to do.
The car’s engine hummed softly, its low murmur the only sound as Ethan’s world finally, quietly, came to an end.
Part 6 | Explainer, Lessons, and Questions
