Chapter 10 - The New Dawn
Six months later.
The sun was shining brightly through the floor-to-ceiling windows of my new corner office at Sterling Global. I stood by the glass, looking out over the city of Boston, a steaming cup of coffee in my hand.
I was fully healed. The scar on my abdomen was a faint white line, a permanent reminder of the night I almost died, and the night I finally woke up. I had legally dropped the name Vance and reclaimed Sterling. I was currently running the philanthropic arm of my father’s company, redirecting millions of dollars into women's healthcare initiatives and domestic abuse shelters.
There was a soft knock on my door. My assistant walked in, holding a newspaper.
"Morning, Ms. Sterling. I thought you might want to see the Metro section today."
She set the paper on my desk and left. I walked over and looked at the headline.
DISGRACED LAWYER SENTENCED TO THREE YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON FOR EMBEZZLEMENT AND FRAUD
Below the headline was a picture of Marcus Vance. He was wearing a bright orange jumpsuit, handcuffed, being led into a courthouse. He looked haggard, aged ten years in six months, his arrogant smirk permanently erased from his face.
During the investigation into his finances, the feds had discovered he had been stealing from Vanguard Legal's escrow accounts to fund his lavish lifestyle. The police report regarding my abandonment had been the catalyst that caused his firm to audit him, unraveling his entire criminal life.
He was going to prison. He had absolutely nothing left.
I picked up the newspaper, folded it neatly, and dropped it into the recycling bin.
I walked over to a small, glass shadow box I kept on the corner of my mahogany desk. Inside, perfectly preserved, was the mud-stained, crinkled fifty-dollar bill.
May you like
It wasn't a symbol of my trauma. It was a trophy of my survival. It was a reminder of the exact price he had put on my life, and the multi-billion dollar consequence he had paid for being wrong.
I smiled, turned my back on the past, and sat down at my desk to begin the day. The storm was finally over, and the future was entirely mine.
