Chapter 20 - The Unwanted VisitorTwo years had passed since the collapsed wedding at the Harborview Hotel. Boston’s high society had completely reorganized its hierarchy, and Emma Carter sat firmly at the apex, not through inherited wealth, but through the undeniable power of Carter-Vance Technologies.
On a freezing Tuesday morning in late November, Emma was reviewing the architectural blueprints for a new nationwide initiative when her receptionist buzzed the intercom.
"Ms. Carter, I’m so sorry to interrupt. There’s a woman in the lobby demanding to see you. She doesn't have an appointment, and she’s refusing to leave. She says her name is Margaret Whitmore."
Emma’s hand paused over the blueprints.
Margaret Whitmore. The woman who had sneered at Emma’s family background, who had insisted that a wedding "should not isolate the couple," and who had happily supported moving Emma’s chair behind a fire exit.
"Send her up," Emma said calmly.
Minutes later, the heavy glass doors to Emma’s expansive corner office opened. Margaret stepped in, but she was entirely unrecognizable from the arrogant matriarch of two years ago. Her designer cashmere was gone, replaced by a worn, off-the-rack winter coat. Her posture, once rigid with elite pride, was stooped and frail.
May you like
Margaret clutched a cheap faux-leather handbag, her eyes darting nervously around the opulent, sunlit office that her son’s former "placeholder" now commanded.
"Emma," Margaret choked out, her voice trembling. "Please. I didn't know where else to go."
