Chapter 34 - Empress of the Skyline
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Six months later.
Spring had arrived in the city. The cherry blossoms were blooming in Central Park, framing the glass and steel skyscrapers in soft pink hues.
I stood on the private helipad atop the roof of The Sterling Imperial, watching our private corporate helicopter touch down softly on the painted emblem. The wind whipped my ivory trench coat around my ankles, but my posture was unyielding, grounded, and supreme.
The fall of Aegis Capital and Vanguard Apex had been total. Unable to absorb the seventy-seven million dollar loss and the crushing lawsuits, the entities were completely erased. Richard Hayes was currently serving his four-year sentence in federal prison, while Arthur Vance remained behind bars.
The Vance family name, along with everyone who had ever aligned with them to try and dismantle me, had been swept into the trash heap of history.
Behind me, the heavy steel door to the roof stairs opened. Sarah Lin stepped out onto the pad, holding a sleek black tablet.
"Director Sterling!" Sarah called out over the dull roar of the helicopter blades. "The quarterly reports are finalized. Sterling Holdings is officially the largest private real estate firm in the region. Asset valuation has surpassed one hundred million dollars!"
I turned around to face her, pulling my sunglasses down slightly over my eyes.
"And what about the domestic violence shelter initiative?" I asked.
"The Elena Sterling Foundation has opened four new facilities this month," Sarah reported with a proud smile. "Over twelve hundred women have been provided with legal aid, emergency housing, and financial independence grants. The Vance Sapphire brooch sold at auction for two hundred and fifty thousand dollars—every cent went directly to funding the new Greenwich shelter."
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A deep warmth spread through my chest. Not the cold satisfaction of revenge, but the everlasting strength of real purpose.
They thought they were dealing with a fragile girl. They had no idea that by throwing me into the fire, they had simply forged an empress.
