Book 2 <b>Bonus </b>Chapter <b>3 </b>
# BONUS CHAPTER 3: LEGACY ON ICE
+25 Points
St. Paul’s Cathedral had never held a more unusual funeral service. At Emma’s insistence, Charlotte and baby Frankie were present in the front pew, their soft baby sounds asionally punctuating the solemnity with reminders of continuing life. Franklin would have approved–he’d always believed children belonged wherever family gathered.
The church was packed beyond capacity. Hockey legends sat beside business executives, longtime household staff mixed with socialites, and fans who’d never met Franklin but understood his importance to Boston sports filled every avable space. Outside, local news crews broadcast the service <i>to </i>thousands more who wanted to pay their respects to the man who’d built a hockey dynasty and raised a granddaughter who’d carried it forward.
Emma sat between Alek and Natasha, holding Charlotte while trying to process the magnitude of her grandfather’s impact. She’d known Franklin was respected, even feared in business circles. But seeing the diverse crowd gathered to honor him revealed something she’d never fully appreciated–how many lives he’d touched beyond their family.
“Before we hear from Franklin Mitchell himself,” the minister announced, “his granddaughter would like to
share a few words.”
Emma hadn’t nned to speak. The idea hade to her that morning while dressing Charlotte in the tiny ck dress Franklin had bought her during one of hisst shopping expeditions.
She handed Charlotte to Alek and approached the podium, her voice initially shaky but growing stronger as she spoke:
“My grandfather wrote his own eulogy because he said he didn’t trust anyone else to get the story right. That’s pure Franklin Mitchell–needing to control the narrative even from beyond the grave.”
Gentleughter rippled through the congregation, exactly as Emma had hoped.
“But before you hear his words, I want you to hear mine. Franklin Mitchell wasn’t just a businessman or a hockey owner or even just a grandfather. He was a force of nature who taught me that love isn’t gentle- it’s fierce. It demands excellence. It refuses to ept mediocrity. It fights for the people it protects, whether they want protection or not.”
She paused, looking at the sea of faces, many tear–stained but all attentive.
“Three days ago, my grandfather died holding his great–grandchildren, after spending his final weeks rearranging his entire life’s work to give his family freedom to pursue their dreams. That wasn’t sentiment -that was strategy. Franklin Mitchell’s final power y, ensuring his legacy would grow stronger in his absence rather than weaker.”
Emma’s voice caught slightly, but she continued. “Those babies he held will never remember his voice or
Book 2 Banus Chapter 3 <ul><li><b>24 </b>Points </li></ul>
his stories, but they’ll live every day with the foundation he built for them. They’ll attend schools he endowed, y in hockey rinks he funded, work in industries he helped create. More importantly, they’ll grow up with the values he insisted on–integrity, determination, and the unshakeable belief that with enough work and heart, anything is possible.”
She looked directly at Alek, who was gently bouncing Charlotte. “Grandpa’s final gift to our family was teaching us that legacies aren’t preserved by staying in one ce–they’re extended by having the courage to grow beyond what came before.”
Returning to her seat, Emma nodded to the minister, who opened Franklin’s sealed envelope and began reading his final words:
“If you’re hearing this, I’m dead, which means I finally lost an argument with my doctors. Don’t worry–it took them four years longer than they predicted, so I consider it a victory.*
*I’m not going to bore you with false modesty or deathbed philosophy. I lived exactly the life I wanted to
live. I built businesses that mattered, raised a granddaughter who exceeded my wildest expectations, and
lived long enough to see her create the family I always dreamed she’d have.*
*To my business associates: thepanies will survive and thrive without me. I hired excellent people <fnf9e7> The source of th?s content is FindN()vel</fnf9e7>
and gave them the tools to seed. Don’t screw it up.*
*To my hockey family: keep winning. The des exist to bring joy to Boston and championships to our
fans. Emma and Aleksander will carry that mission forward better than I ever could.*
*To my household staff, especially Walter: thank you for pretending I wasn’t impossible to work for. The
mansion is yours for as long as you want it.*
*To my granddaughter Emma: stop crying and start nning. You have a family to raise, a husband’s career to support, and a legacy to expand. I didn’t spend forty years teaching you everything I know so you could waste time mourning me. Make me proud by being better than I was.*
*To Aleksander: take care of my girls. All three of them–Emma, Charlotte, and whatever that boy turns out to be when he grows up. You’ve already proven you’re the man I hoped my granddaughter would find.*
*To Charlotte and Franklin: your great–grandfather believes you’ll change the world. I won’t be here to see it, but I know it’s true. Be kind, be brave, be stubborn when it matters, and remember that Mitchell blood
means you’re never allowed to quit.*
*Finally, to everyone else: stop looking so sad. I lived ny–one years, built an empire, saw four generations of my family, and died surrounded by people I loved. That’s not a tragedy–that’s a victoryp.*
*Now go have some whiskey, tell embarrassing stories about me, and get back to the business of living. I have your grandmother to catch up with, and she’s probably irritated that I kept her waiting this long.*
<b>*</b>-Franklin Mitchell, still the boss even when dead.”<b>* </b>
The church erupted in surprisedughter at Franklin’s final irreverent words. Even the minister was smiling as he folded the letter, clearly charmed by Franklin’s refusal to be solemn even at his own funeral.
< Book 2 Bonus Chapter 3
$25 Points
As the service concluded and mourners filed out to the reception at the mansion, Emma felt something unexpected–peace. Franklin had orchestrated even his goodbye to be exactly what his family needed: not prolonged grief, but permission to move forward with joy.
The reception transformed the mansion into something magical. Walter had outdone himself, creating disys of Franklin’s life that celebrated rather than mourned. Photo coges showed him as a young
entrepreneur, a devoted husband, a proud grandfather, and finally a delighted great–grandfather. The hockey memorabilia room was opened to guests, allowing them to see trophies and championships that
told the story of Franklin’s impact on the sport.
Most memorably, someone had arranged for baby Charlotte’sughter to y softly through the house’s sound system–recordings Franklin had made on his phone during recent visits, now serving as a reminder
that life continued with joy even in sorrow.
“He would have loved this,” Veronica said, approaching Emma near the garden windows. She’d flown in specifically for the funeral, bringing Jack who had offered condolences before joining a group of current and former yers sharing Franklin stories.
“He nned most of it,” Emma replied, watching guests mingle easily between business conversations and baby admiration. “Even the menu was his idea.”
“Smart man,” Veronica observed. “Making his own funeral feel like a celebration.”
They stood infortable silence, watching Alek navigate the crowd with baby Frankie, who seemed to enjoy the attention and stimtion of meeting dozens of new people.
“I’m sorry we won’t be in Boston much longer,” Emma said suddenly. “I would have liked our children to grow up knowing each other.”
“About that,” Veronica said carefully. “Jack’s been offered a position with the NHL’s yer development program. Based in New York.”
Emma turned in surprise. “Really? He’s considering retirement?”
“After the ident, he’s been thinking about life beyond ying,” Veronica exined. “Working with young yers appeals to him more than another few years chasing championships.”
“That would be wonderful,” Emma said sincerely. “The kids could grow up together after all.”
“Just like their parents did,” Veronica agreed with a meaningful look.
As the afternoon wound down, Emma found herself in Franklin’s study with Katie and her children, who
were saying their own goodbyes to the house they’de to consider a second home.
“It feels different already,” Katie observed, watching her daughter trace patterns on Franklin’s desk.
“Empty without his voice,” Emma agreed. “But Walter says he can hear Franklinining about the flower arrangements from beyond the grave, so maybe his presence isn’tpletely gone.”
Book 2 Bonus Chapter 3
+25 Points
Katie’s son, now six, looked up seriously from the hockey stick he’d been examining. “Will the new people who live here know about Mr. Franklin?”
“The house isn’t being sold,” Emma exined gently. “Walter and the other staff will keep living here, and we’ll visit whenever wee back to Boston.”
“But it won’t be the same,” the boy said with childhood’s direct honesty.
“No,” Emma agreed. “It won’t be the same. But different doesn’t always mean worse. Sometimes it means new adventures.”
That evening, after thest guests had departed and the caterers had cleaned up, Emma and Alek sat in
their bedroom with both babies, surrounded by the strange quiet that follows intense social gatherings.
“How are you feeling?” Alek asked, settling Charlotte in her travel crib while Emma fed Frankie.
“Grateful,” Emma said after consideration. “For the time we had, for the way he died peacefully, for
everyone who came today to honor him.”
“No regrets about the timing? With everything else happening?”
Emma knew he was referring to their nned move to New York, Alek’s new position, the major life changes that Franklin’s death had interrupted.
“Grandpa would haunt us if we let his death dy our ns,” she said firmly. “He spent hisst weeks making sure we could move forward without guilt or logisticalplications.”
“The board extended the start date by two weeks,” Alek offered. “To give us time to settle everything here.”
“Perfect,” Emma decided. “Enough time to close this chapter properly and open the next one.”
She looked around their bedroom, soon to be packed up and left behind, and felt ready for the transition. Franklin’s death had been the ending of one era, but his funeral had shown her something important–how many people were invested in their family’s continued sess.
“The babies did well today,” Alek observed, watching Charlotte fight sleep with typical stubborn
determination.
“Franklin would say they were working the room,” Emma smiled. “Especially Charlotte. Did you see her charm the governor’s wife?”
“Future politician,” Alek predicted. “With her great–grandfather’s people skills and her mother’s strategic
mind.”
“God help Massachusetts,” Emmaughed.
As they settled for their final night in the mansion where Emma had grown up, she felt Franklin’s presence not as grief but as foundation. His voice would echo in her decisions, his values would guide her parenting, his love would strengthen her marriage.
Book 2 Bonus Chapter 3
125 Pits
But most importantly, his belief in her abilities would give her courage to write the next chapter of the Mitchell legacy–not as a copy of what came before, but as something entirely new and uniquely theirs.
Three weekster, as their ne lifted off from Logan Airport bound for New York, Emma held sleeping Charlotte while Alek managed baby Frankie, Katie and her family in seats nearby beginning their own
adventure.
Below them, Boston spread out in afternoon sunlight–the city where Franklin had built his empire, where Emma had learned to be strong, where their children had taken their first breaths.
But aheady New York, where Alek would lead professional hockey into its next era, where Emma would pioneer opportunities for women in sports, where Charlotte and Frankie would grow up knowing they came from greatness but were expected to create their own.
“Ready for the next adventure?” Alek asked softly, echoing the question that had be their family
motto.
Emma looked at her sleeping daughter, her infant son, her husband whose dreams were finally being realized, and the friend who’d be family sitting nearby.
“Ready,” she confirmed, meaning itpletely.
Outside the airne window, clouds stretched endlessly ahead–as full of possibility as the future Franklin had made possible for them all.
The legacy lived on, stronger than ever, carried forward by love that refused to quit.
Just as Franklin had nned.
THE END
Franklin Mitchell: 1932-2024
“Still the boss, even when dead”
The Mitchell–Volkov family story continues…