Chapter 25
Chapter 25: The Vanguard
One year to the day since Arthur was escorted out in handcuffs, the world looked entirely different.
The glowing neon sign atop the skyscraper no longer read Arthur's name. It simply read: VOSS.
I stood on the ground floor of the grand lobby, a space of sweeping marble and towering glass. It was the evening of our annual gala. The room was filled with the city's elite—politicians, investors, and titans of industry. They all held champagne flutes, and they were all waiting for me.
Maya stepped up beside me, handing me a glass of my signature bourbon.
"The press is waiting for your speech, Elena," she said, her eyes gleaming with pride. "Our quarterly profits just shattered the ten-year record."
"Let them wait," I said softly, taking a sip of the warm, amber liquid.
I looked at the reflection of the lobby in the polished glass of the doors. I saw the scar on my temple, a faint silver line that told the story of a girl who was broken, and the woman who glued herself back together with gold.
I had not just survived the storm; I had become it. I had taken the cruelty of the world and forged it into an unbreakable armor. The empire was secure. My enemies were dust. And the people who stood beside me were fiercely, undeniably mine.
I handed the empty glass to a waiter and took a deep, steadying breath.
May you like
The sky outside was endless, a vast, limitless expanse of dark blue velvet. And as I walked into the ballroom, greeted by the thunderous applause of the very people who had once tried to keep me down, I knew the truth.
The sky wasn't the limit. It was just the view from my throne.
