Chapter 10 - A Clean Slate
Three years later.
The sun was setting over the ocean, casting a golden glow through the floor-to-ceiling windows of my new beach house in Malibu.
I stood on the deck, a glass of wine in my hand, listening to the waves crash against the shore.
Maya Holdings had just gone public.
The IPO was a massive success. I was now one of the wealthiest self-made female CEOs in the country.
The press called me a visionary.
The board called me indispensable.
But to a little girl running down the hallway with sandy feet, I was just "Mom."
“Mommy, look!”
Maya burst onto the deck, holding a perfectly intact seashell she had found on the beach. She was three years old now, with wild dark curls and bright, intelligent eyes.
“It’s beautiful, sweetheart,” I smiled, kneeling down to admire it.
Behind her walked Julian.
Julian was an architect I had hired two years ago to design our new eco-resorts.
He was kind. He was brilliant. And most importantly, he looked at me like I was an equal, not an accessory.
He didn't need me to be quiet.
He didn't need me to shrink so he could look big.
He wrapped an arm around my waist and kissed my temple.
“The press wants a quote about the IPO tomorrow,” he murmured.
“Tell them the CEO is busy building sandcastles,” I laughed, leaning into him.
He smiled, watching Maya examine her seashell.
My phone buzzed on the patio table.
It was an alert. A news notification.
Dominic Vale denied early parole after three years in federal prison.
I looked at the notification.
Then I looked at the vast, endless ocean in front of me.
I picked up the phone and swiped the notification away.
It disappeared into the digital ether, completely erased.
Just like his grip on my life.
I picked Maya up, balancing her on my hip, and walked back inside the warm, brightly lit house with Julian.
The past was a closed book.
May you like
The future was entirely mine to write.
THE END.
