Chapter 5 - The Morning Headlines
The next morning, the sun rose over a city that had fundamentally shifted. Vivien sat in the solarium of her childhood estate, a cup of Earl Grey tea resting on the glass table. Her lip was slightly swollen, but the pain was entirely eclipsed by the profound, breathtaking sensation of freedom.
Julian Hayes sat across from her, his tablet illuminated with the morning press.
“**THE BILLION-DOLLAR SLAP**,” Julian read aloud, his lips curving into a lethal smile. “That’s the cover of the Times. The Journal went with ASHFORD HEIRESS CLEANS HOUSE: CEO OUSTED IN CHARITY SCANDAL. You are trending number one globally, Vivien. The public is entirely on your side. The hospital donations have tripled overnight out of sheer spite for Alexander.”
Vivien took a slow sip of her tea. “And Alexander?”
“He spent the night at a three-star motel near LaGuardia. His corporate lawyers dropped him at dawn when they realized he couldn’t pay their retainers. He’s currently trying to secure a loan from a subprime lender just to hire a defense attorney for the SEC charges.”
“It’s almost too easy,” Vivien murmured, looking out at the manicured gardens. “For twelve years, I let him convince me that I was too fragile to run the company. That I needed a ‘strong man’ to navigate the corporate sharks. He made me believe my only value was smiling in photographs and wearing my mother’s jewelry.”
“You are the shark, Vivien,” Julian said softly. He set the tablet down and leaned forward, his dark eyes intensely focused on her. “He was just the remora fish, feeding off your scraps. You executed a flawless corporate coup in three hours. Men write entire textbooks trying to learn what you did instinctively.”
May you like
Vivien met his gaze, feeling a strange, warm flutter in her chest that she hadn’t felt in a decade. Julian had been a wall of steel beside her for months, never once doubting her strength.
“We aren’t done,” Vivien said, her voice hardening. “I want every contract Madison Cole touched scrutinized. I want to know exactly how much of my family’s money he poured into her vanity projects. If she bought a single pair of shoes with Ashford money, I want them repossessed.”
