Chapter 17 - The Boardroom Doors
I looked at the phone receiver in my hand, listening to the frantic breathing of the brother who had watched me drown in poverty and social exile without ever offering a single lifeline.
"No, Robert," I said, my voice steady, calm, and absolute.
"Clara, wait! Don't be foolish! You could name your own terms—"
"I already have," I interrupted smoothly. "My terms were respect, decency, and family loyalty. You chose money, status, and Richard’s toxic lies. You made your bed, Robert. Now lie in it. Do not ever call this number again."
Before he could sputter another word, I pressed the button on the cradle, cutting the connection completely. I placed the phone back on its base, took a deep, grounding breath, and walked out the back door onto the patio.
Ethan had shut off the lawnmower. He was standing by the fence, wiping the sweat from his forehead with the back of his arm. He looked up as I approached, his intelligent eyes reading my expression instantly.
"That was Uncle Robert, wasn't it?" Ethan asked.
I stopped beside him, leaning against the wooden railing. "It was. They want me to step in and save their corporate empire from the wreckage Richard left behind."
Ethan raised an eyebrow, a slow, knowing smile spreading across his face. "And what did you say?"
"I told him to figure it out himself," I replied, wrapping my arm around his waist.
Ethan let out a low whistle, shaking his head. "End of an era. The mighty Sterling Corporation is finally crumbling under the weight of its own corruption."
May you like
"Let it crumble," I said, looking out over our quiet yard. "We don't need their empire. We have our own lives to build."
The rest of the afternoon passed in a blur of packing boxes, laughter, and quiet anticipation. The shadow of my family’s wealth and toxicity, which had loomed over us for decades like a dark cloud, had finally evaporated completely. We were truly free.
