Chapter 10 - THE SOVEREIGN QUEEN’S DAWN
Six months later.
The main conference room on the 80th floor of the Vance International Tower in downtown Chicago overlooked the vast blue expanse of Lake Michigan.
Thirty executive board members sat around a massive mahogany table, waiting in silence.
The doors opened, and I walked in.
I was wearing a sharp, tailored navy-blue suit—a deliberate nod to the worn dress I had burned six months ago. But this time, there were no frayed sleeves. On my wrist was a silver watch that controlled an equity portfolio worth billions.
"Good morning, gentlemen," I said, taking my seat at the head of the table. Arthur Vance sat to my right, smiling with quiet pride as he officially stepped down into an advisory role.
"Madam Vice-Chairwoman," one of the senior directors spoke up respectfully. "We have finalized the liquidation of Apex Group's former assets. Their logistics network has been completely absorbed into Vance Global. The remaining shell of the company has been dissolved."
"And Julian Cross?" I asked calmly.
"He was sentenced yesterday," Richard Sterling reported from the corner. "Thirty-two years without parole in a federal penitentiary. Chloe Miller declared personal bankruptcy and is currently working as a retail clerk in a small town out West to pay off her legal fees."
I nodded slowly, closing the final dossier on Apex Group.
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"Very good," I said, looking out the floor-to-ceiling windows at the bright, endless horizon. "Now, let's discuss our new investments in clean energy infrastructure."
I had spent three years believing that making myself smaller would invite love. But as the sun rose fully over the city, casting its brilliant light across the room, I knew the truth.
