Chapter 5 - The Heir
Six months later, the Manhattan skyline looked brilliant from the floor-to-ceiling windows of the CEO’s office at the Whitmore Family Foundation.
I sat behind the massive mahogany desk, reviewing the quarterly philanthropic grants. The foundation had never been stronger. My father had formally announced my appointment as the sole CEO the morning after the vow-renewal, stepping down to act as a silent advisor. The board had voted unanimously in my favor.
The intercom on my desk buzzed. “Ms. Whitmore, your two o'clock is here.”
“Send them in,” I said, signing the bottom of a million-dollar charity check.
My lawyer walked in, carrying a thin, black folder. He sat down across from me with a satisfied smile.
“The divorce is finalized, Emma,” he announced, sliding the folder across the desk. “Because of the ironclad prenuptial agreement your father insisted on, and the undeniable proof of gross moral turpitude, Aaron gets absolutely nothing. No alimony. No assets. He was formally evicted from the condo yesterday.”
“Where is he going?” I asked, taking a sip of my coffee.
“He took a job as a mid-level manager at a logistics warehouse in Ohio,” my lawyer laughed. “He’s completely bankrupt. And as for your sister...”
I didn't need him to finish the sentence. I already knew.
Lisa had been completely excommunicated from the family. My father had cut off her trust fund, and my mother, too humiliated to show her face in high society with her, had sent her to live with a distant aunt in a rural suburb. Without my father’s money to fund her lifestyle, Aaron had dumped her exactly three days after the ballroom incident. They had turned on each other the second the money dried up, just like I knew they would.
I closed the black folder and pushed it to the side of my desk.
I had lost a husband and a sister, but I hadn't shed a single tear. They had been parasites, feeding off my silence and my father's wealth, convinced they were the smartest people in the room. They had taken my kindness for weakness, expecting me to quietly hand over my life so they could live theirs.
May you like
I stood up and walked over to the massive window, looking down at the bustling city below. I was wearing a flawless, custom-tailored white suit today. I didn't need to wear black anymore. The mourning period for a life I never truly had was over.
Aaron and Lisa had wanted to rule the kingdom. But they forgot that before you can sit on the throne, you have to survive the queen. And I was never going to surrender my crown.
