Chapter 10 - The Sovereign of the City
Three weeks later, the rain tapped softly against the floor-to-ceiling windows of the penthouse suite.
The trial was pending, the corporate restructuring was complete, and the toxic parasites who had poisoned my life for a decade were locked away behind high-security prison walls where they belonged.
I stood in the center of the grand ballroom, wearing a simple, elegant black dress. There were no fake friends, no superficial socialites, and no cruel step-sisters. Just absolute, unshakeable peace.
Marcus walked into the room, holding a single manila folder.
“The final subsidiary acquisitions in London and Tokyo have cleared,” Marcus reported, offering a respectful nod. “Sterling Holdings is officially the largest consolidated private equity firm on the East Coast. And you, Ms. Sterling, are the sole controlling shareholder.”
I took the folder, signing my name across the bottom line with a heavy gold fountain pen. My signature was firm, steady, and unyielding.
“Thank you, Marcus,” I said, handing the folder back.
He smiled faintly. “What are your orders for tomorrow, Chairman Sterling?”
I walked over to the balcony, looking down at the glittering lights of Manhattan stretching out endlessly into the dark night. Twenty years old. The age they thought they could break me. The age they thought they could discard me.
May you like
Instead, I had taken their entire world apart piece by piece, and built a kingdom of my own from the ashes.
“No orders for tomorrow, Marcus,” I murmured softly, watching the city lights shimmer through the rain. “Let them wonder who’s coming next.”
