Chapter 20 - The Final Horizon
The summit ended with a twenty-minute standing ovation, international syndicates rushing to partner with Veritas Capital, and global markets shifting in direct response to my keynote address.
By midnight, my private jet was cruising at forty thousand feet above the Atlantic Ocean, cutting smoothly through the velvet darkness toward home.
I sat in the leather-lined executive lounge of the aircraft, sipping a glass of rare vintage champagne, looking out the reinforced window at the infinite expanse of stars stretching out across the cosmos.
My encrypted phone rested on the mahogany table. It was completely silent. No emergency board alerts, no corporate crises, no ungrateful demands from a broken past.
For the first time in my life, there was only absolute peace.
David walked quietly down the aisle, holding a sleek silver tablet. "Madam Chairwoman, all European portfolios have closed in the green. The Veritas acquisition of Sterling Logistics is finalized under our direct registry. You have no pending obligations until the Asian markets open on Monday."
I turned my gaze from the starry horizon, looking down at the silver ring finger on my left hand. The platinum band—the one Weston had bought us when we were eating ramen on milk crates, the one I had dropped on the glass coffee table months ago—was gone. In its place, nothing. Not an empty space, but a blank canvas.
"Thank you, David," I said softly. "Clear my schedule for the entire weekend. I want no interruptions."
"Understood, Madam Chairwoman." He nodded respectfully and retreated to the front cabin.
I leaned back against the plush leather seat, closing my eyes for a brief moment as the jet surged forward into the night.
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They thought they could lock me in a kitchen, hand me a broom, and tell me I wasn't polished enough for their world. They never realized that I didn't need their world at all.
I was the world. And the horizon belonged entirely to me.
