Chapter 9 - Ashes of an Empire
The absolute destruction of the Sterling family was swift, brutal, and entirely merciless.
General Hawthorne did not just want them bankrupt.
He wanted them entirely erased from high society.
Within a single month, the massive Sterling-Vaughn headquarters was foreclosed on by the banks.
The towering glass skyscraper bearing their prestigious name was bought for pennies by a Hawthorne shell company.
The very next morning, workers arrived to rip the glowing Sterling name off the building.
Victoria and Julian were brutally evicted from their temporary, roach-infested motel.
They had completely run out of cash and credit.
Their wealthy friends had entirely abandoned them, terrified of crossing paths with the wrathful Hawthornes.
Victoria, a woman who once wore diamond necklaces to casual breakfasts, was now standing in line at a downtown soup kitchen.
Julian had turned completely bitter, screaming at his mother in the streets.
"If you had just kept your stupid mouth shut at that banquet, we would be billionaires right now!" Julian screamed in a dirty alleyway.
"You completely ruined my life!"
Victoria slapped him violently across the face, just as she used to slap Maya.
"I gave you absolutely everything!"
"You were just too weak to control your own wife!"
Their pathetic screaming match was suddenly interrupted by a massive, armored black limousine pulling up to the curb.
The dark tinted window slowly rolled down with a soft mechanical hum.
Maya sat inside the luxurious vehicle, wearing a stunning black power suit, looking exactly like royalty.
She looked at the two of them fighting in the literal dirt.
She felt absolutely no pity for them.
She felt absolutely no lingering anger.
She just felt completely, beautifully free.
"Look at you both," Maya said softly, her clear voice carrying through the cold, polluted air.
Victoria and Julian froze, staring up at the powerful woman they had tormented for years.
"Maya, please," Julian begged, taking a pathetic step toward the idling car.
"We are starving, we have nothing to eat."
"Just give us enough money to get a small, safe apartment."
Maya looked at him with dead, completely unfeeling eyes.
"An orphan will always be an orphan."
"And trash will always be trash."
She rolled the tinted window up, sealing them out of her world forever.
The massive limousine pulled away smoothly, leaving the Sterlings choking in the exhaust fumes.
They watched the glowing taillights disappear into the busy city.
They finally realized they had lost the greatest treasure they had ever held.
May you like
They were finally exactly where they belonged.
At the absolute bottom.
