“You did incredibly good today, Clara,” he said very softly, his deep voice full of absolute pride. “Your beautiful mother would have been so incredibly proud of the incredible woman you are. She absolutely would have loved seeing you tear down that awful, massive house in Connecticut.”
“I don’t want to just rapidly tear things down to the ground, Dad,” I said softly, looking deeply at my peacefully sleeping baby. “I want to intentionally build beautiful things that permanently last forever. I want little Leo to grow up safely in a completely different world where he absolutely never has to cruelly look down on anyone else just to make himself feel tall.”
Silas warmly nodded his head in deep agreement. “The entire Vanguard Corporation is entirely yours one day, Clara. Exactly what are you going to intentionally do with completely all of it?”
“I’m going to aggressively use it to completely change the foundational rules of the entire game,” I said with absolute, unshakeable conviction.
Silas proudly clinked his heavy crystal glass directly against mine in highly supportive agreement. “Then let’s eagerly get right to work,” he smiled warmly.
The summer night air was incredibly warm and soothing, and for the absolute first time in completely twenty-four long years, I intimately and undeniably knew exactly who I truly was. I was a highly powerful Sterling. I was a fiercely protective mother. I was an uncrushable survivor.
And looking at the incredible resources now firmly in my capable hands, I completely knew I was absolutely, truly just getting started.
As I savored the peaceful moment, my encrypted satellite phone vibrated softly on the glass table. A new message from my lead tech analyst flashed on the screen:
“Ms. Sterling. The prominent state senator who actively assisted Eleanor in attempting to expedite the corrupt CPS paperwork six months ago has just announced his gubernatorial campaign. He currently believes his involvement remains entirely hidden. Do we deploy the legal team?”
I looked at Silas, who raised a questioning eyebrow. I smiled, a sharp, fiercely cold glint returning to my amber eyes. I typed my swift reply.
“No. Tell the team to stand down. I’ll handle this one personally.”
