Julian was so startled he nearly dropped it when he was reading a local Chicago paper and noticed an obituary that had his name on it in the 'survived by' section. Maxwell Shea had died of a heart attack.
He didn't feel any degree of grief over his father's death since he had always loathed the man but it was a shock. Technology to make people live longer had been improving steadily over time so he was still fairly young to have a fatal heart attack.
Isaac would probably be taking over the company since he had vanished off the grid. To avoid being tracked down by any of the Sheas, he had continued his habit of paying to remain unlisted every place he lived since he first left them. They may have heard of some of his accomplishments but he doubted they cared enough to look into him further.