Chapter 10 - The Master of the House
The night was crisp and clear, a stark contrast to the humid, suffocating evening a year prior. The Vanguard estate was silent, the grounds bathed in the soft glow of security lights.
I stood on the west balcony.
The wrought-iron balustrade had been entirely replaced with reinforced, shatterproof glass. I leaned against it, my silver-handled cane resting beside me. The cold air stung my cheeks, but it felt remarkably refreshing.
Thorne stepped out onto the balcony behind me. He handed me a crystal glass of expensive scotch.
"The final transfer is complete," Thorne said, taking a sip from his own glass. "The trust is entirely in your name, irrevocable and ironclad. Your parents have signed the non-disclosure agreements in exchange for their monthly stipend. They will never speak to the press, and they will never set foot in New York again."
"And Julian?" I asked, staring out over the sprawling manicured lawns.
"In general population at ADX Florence," Thorne replied neutrally. "He's learning that the Vanguard name doesn't carry much weight when you don't have a checkbook to back it up."
I took a slow sip of the scotch. It burned perfectly down my throat.
My grandmother had built this empire from nothing. She had watched her own children become spoiled, greedy monsters. She had known the rot was deep, and she had chosen me as the scalpel to cut it out. It had cost me my mobility, my innocence, and my family, but as I looked out over the vast, silent grounds, I knew it was worth it.
"Thank you, Marcus," I said softly, turning to look at the lawyer. "For everything."
Thorne gave a rare, slight bow of his head. "Eleanor chose well. You are exactly the monster this family needed to survive."
He turned and walked back inside, leaving me alone in the night.
May you like
I gripped my cane, feeling the solid weight of it in my hand. I wasn't the scared girl who had been pushed off this edge. I was the one who controlled the gravity now. I looked up at the stars, raised my glass in a silent toast to the woman who had orchestrated it all, and turned my back on the edge.
I had an empire to run.
