Chapter 6 - The New Dawn
One month later.
The private maternity wing at Mount Sinai Hospital was quiet, bathed in the soft, warm light of a sunrise over the East River.
I lay in the large, comfortable bed, holding a tiny, perfect bundle wrapped in a soft pink blanket. She had dark, velvety hair, deep blue eyes, and a tiny dusting of freckles across her nose.
My daughter.
Victoria Vance.
The door to the private room opened gently, and Arthur Pendelton walked in, carrying a large arrangement of fresh white lilies and a leather-bound folder.
"Good morning, Chairman," Arthur whispered, smiling warmly as he looked at the baby. "She is absolute perfection."
"She is," I smiled, looking down at her sweet, sleeping face. "She has her whole life ahead of her."
Arthur set the flowers on the table and opened the leather folder, placing a sleek fountain pen beside it.
"The final restructuring documents for Aethelard Global Holdings," Arthur said quietly. "Fifty-one percent of the voting shares have been officially transferred into the Victoria Vance Trust. She is officially the wealthiest infant in North America."
I picked up the pen and signed my name across the crisp parchment with a smooth, unwavering hand.
Cassidy Vance.
No longer the quiet, meek ex-wife who took insults in silence. No longer the woman who allowed arrogant people to mistake her kindness for weakness.
I looked out the high window at the glittering skyline of New York City—a city filled with towers, streets, and opportunities that belonged to my daughter and me.
Brendan was currently sitting in a grey jumpsuit in a federal facility in upstate New York, eating cafeteria food from a tray. Diane was working three days a week at a dry-cleaning shop in New Jersey to pay the rent on her tiny one-bedroom basement apartment.
They had wanted luxury. They had wanted status. They had wanted to feel like royalty by tearing down a good woman.
In the end, they got exactly what they earned.
May you like
I held my daughter close to my chest, listening to the soft, steady rhythm of her breathing, feeling her warm heart beating against mine.
"Welcome to your world, Victoria," I whispered softly into her dark hair. "Nobody will ever tell you to know your place again."
