Chapter 5 - The Final Departure
Adrien fell to his knees. Literally.
Right there on the plush carpet of the boardroom, in front of the twelve board members who had once treated him like a god, the silver-haired titan of industry collapsed. He reached out, trying to grab the hem of Evelyn's white trousers.
She took one precise step backward, out of his reach.
"Your mother has already been evicted from the estate," Evelyn told him, looking down at his pathetic, trembling form. "I allowed her to keep her personal clothing, but the cars remained. You have thirty days of severance pay hitting a temporary account this afternoon. After that, you are entirely on your own."
"You can't leave me with nothing!" Adrien screamed, tears finally spilling down his face. "I built this!"
"You built a house of cards on my foundation," Evelyn corrected him. "I am simply taking my foundation back."
Evelyn turned and walked toward the double doors. She didn't look back. She didn't need to see the wreckage; she had already memorized the blueprints of his destruction.
She stepped into the private elevator. The doors slid shut, cutting off the sound of Adrien Vale sobbing on the boardroom floor.
As the elevator descended toward the lobby, Evelyn looked at her reflection in the polished steel doors. She looked tired, yes. But for the first time in nine years, she did not look quiet.
She stepped out into the morning sunlight of Manhattan. The city was awake, loud, and brutally indifferent to the empires that had fallen in the dark. Marcus was waiting by the Bentley.
"Where to, Ms. Vale?" Marcus asked, using her maiden name without needing to be told.
May you like
Evelyn looked up at the towering glass skyscraper she now entirely owned.
"Anywhere we want, Marcus," she smiled. "Anywhere we want."
