Chapter 10 - The Sovereign Queen
Midnight.
I returned to my estate in the hills above Lake Travis—a stunning, modern architectural home of glass, stone, and cedar that I had purchased six months ago.
The floor-to-ceiling glass walls looked out over the quiet, dark waters of the lake below—the same lake where Evan Pierce had proposed to me two years earlier with a stolen diamond ring and a heart full of lies.
I stepped out onto the wide stone terrace, carrying a glass of red wine.
The night was peaceful. The stars were bright and sharp against the dark Texas sky, and the gentle sound of water lapping against the shore below provided a soothing rhythm.
I walked to the edge of the terrace and rested my hand on the smooth stone railing.
I thought about the woman who had sat in her kitchen at 7:13 AM on a Monday morning, watching cold coffee spill across unopened wedding invitations, her hands shaking so violently she couldn't stand up.
That woman was gone. She had been burned away in the fire of betrayal.
In her place stood a woman who owned her company, her life, her future, and her destiny entirely on her own terms.
My phone chimed on the table inside.
I didn't rush to pick it up. I took a slow sip of wine, enjoying the quiet serenity of the midnight air.
When I finally walked inside and picked up the device, I saw a text message from Victoria:
Claire, London just signed the global deployment agreement! LatticePoint Prime is officially standard across all four major continents. We did it.
I smiled—a soft, calm, triumphant smile that reached all the way to my eyes.
I typed back a single reply:
We’re just getting started.
I set the phone down on the polished marble counter, turned off the lights of the terrace, and looked out over the dark, quiet lake.
The storm was long over.
May you like
The sun had risen.
And the company, the victory, and the life I had built belonged entirely to me.
