Dear Mr. Apotheker,
I’m Cléa, Caroline’s daughter.
Despite all of the harm that you have caused my family and I, I have still found it in me to thank you.
I could place the blame on you for a lot of things, however I was not raised to blame others easily.
I know that the choices that I have made in my life are my own; even the ones that were painful to make.
No matter the circumstances, you always have a choice.
My mother, who believed in you, tried to bring you closer to your clients and to reason you out of your blind race towards profit during your last years at SAP.
She tried to do something good, to help you, and I suffered the consequences of your pride.
I am a strong believer that what goes around comes around, but when you came along and reduced my world to ruins, I could not think of anything that I could have possibly done to deserve it.
What I found even more difficult to understand was how someone could be so cold-blooded as to destroy a young person’s future on a whim. A journey so far beyond humanity does not deserve to be rewarded.
Recently, I heard you state, “You have to be obsessed with customers; you have to take care of them.”
I wish you great success in your new challenge – I mean that most sincerely.
I will remain by my mother’s side, assisting her in her own challenge, helping the world to understand you better through your biography, “My Life”.
Your life will always be missing one thing; this void defines who you are in many ways.
Unfortunately, no amount of money will compensate for it.
I am lucky enough to have that something. It may be all I have left after your passing; but I would rather be in my shoes than in yours, even for a minute.
I would like to thank you:
- for all those years in one of the most incredible international schools in the world, for my friends from all four corners of the globe, for all the languages I had the chance to learn, and all the travels I was fortunate to experience
- for making me understand what really matters in life
- and for forcing me to fight for my dreams and my future
Whether it was your intention or not, you have become part of my life, forever.
Just remember… You always have a choice.
Sincerely,
Cléa
To those of you with wandering minds:
If you were ever under the impression that I am Léo Apotheker’s daughter, then you are mistaken; not only are you over-estimating Léo Apotheker, you are also under-estimating my mother.
The story is a lot less ordinary and infinitely more complex.
Not me. Not her.
Just… Biographer.