Chapter 6 - The Empty EstateWithin an hour, the grand estate was entirely silent once more.
Sienna had gathered her belongings, her face pale and tear-stained as she walked out the front doors into the rain, climbing into the back of the waiting town car without looking back. The champagne flutes had been cleared away, the celebratory banner torn down from the living room wall, and the heavy oak doors locked tight against the outside world.
I walked alone through the expansive rooms, running my hand along the polished mahogany furniture and the tall glass windows. For months, this house had felt like a tomb—a gilded cage where I was expected to quietly expire so others could inherit my life.
Now, the air felt clean. The oppressive weight that had crushed my chest since the day of the false diagnosis had completely vanished.
I walked down to the guest room near the service entrance—the dark, dusty room where Richard had banished me to keep my medical equipment out of his sight. I opened the door and stepped inside. It smelled of old dust and hopelessness.
I walked over to the small nightstand, picked up my overnight bag, and zipped it shut. I would never sleep in this room again. My master suite upstairs—reclaimed, sanitized, and entirely mine—was waiting.
My phone buzzed on the nightstand. I picked it up. It was a text message from Marcus Sterling:
All corporate boardrooms have been secured. The freezing orders on Richard’s personal accounts are locked in. The press release regarding his arrest for embezzlement and corporate fraud will hit the morning papers at 6:00 AM.
May you like
I typed a brief reply: Thank you, Marcus. Let the board know I will be presiding over the emergency meeting tomorrow morning at 9:00 AM.
Apex Industries was back in my hands. The game Richard thought he had won was over before it even truly began.
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