Chapter 10 - Building an Empire
Five Years Later.
The gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art was the event of the season. I stood on the grand staircase, wearing a custom emerald gown, a glass of champagne in my hand.
Thorne Innovations—which I had rebranded as Vanguard AI—was now a multi-billion dollar juggernaut. I was listed on Forbes as one of the most powerful women in tech, but I rarely gave interviews. My life wasn't about fame. It was about peace.
"Excuse me, Ms. Vanguard?"
I turned. A young reporter was standing there, looking nervous but eager.
"I was wondering if I could ask you a question about your lead architect," she said. "The anonymous genius who designed your new predictive financial modeling software. Rumor has it, he's a teenager."
I smiled, looking across the crowded room.
Standing near a display of ancient architecture was a thirteen-year-old boy in a sharp tuxedo. He wasn't mingling, and he wasn't making small talk. He was silently analyzing the geometric patterns of the vaulted ceiling, completely content in his own brilliant world.
He was confident, happy, and entirely unbroken.
"He's not just a teenager," I told the reporter, my heart swelling with fierce, undeniable pride. "He is my son."
I walked down the steps and joined Leo. He looked at me and smiled, his gray eyes shining with intelligence.
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Julian Thorne had thrown us away because he thought we were worthless. He thought he possessed the world. But he was just a fool who didn't know how to count.
Leo took my arm, and together, we walked into the flashbulbs, leaving the ghost of the past exactly where it belonged—locked away in the dark.
