“Yes, you were. But more than that, you were cruel. You didn’t just leave me—you tried to erase me. You turned my own daughter against me.”
“I can fix that. I can make Ava understand—”
“You can’t fix anything. The damage is done.”
I walked to the window, looking out at the city lights. “Do you know what I learned after I left?”
He didn’t answer.
“I learned that I never needed you. I thought I did—I thought I needed your love, your approval, your presence in my life to be complete. But I was wrong. I was always complete on my own.”
“That’s not true—”
“It is true. Look around you, Damon. Look at what I built from nothing. I went from sleeping in my car to running a billion-dollar company. I did that without you. I did that despite you.”
I turned back to face him, and I saw my reflection in the window behind me—confident, powerful, untouchable.
“The woman you married was weak,” I said quietly. “She was so desperate for love that she accepted scraps and called them a feast. She was so afraid of being alone that she stayed with a man who never deserved her.”
“You weren’t weak—”
“I was. But I’m not anymore. That woman died the day I walked out of our penthouse. The woman standing here now? She doesn’t need anyone’s permission to exist. She doesn’t beg for love. She doesn’t accept less than she deserves.”
“And what do you deserve?”
I smiled, and it was sharp as a blade. “Everything. I deserve everything, Damon. And I’m going to take it.”
“Starting with destroying me?”
“I’m not destroying you. I’m just… not saving you. There’s a difference.”
“Please.” The word was barely a whisper. “I’ll do anything. I’ll sign the divorce papers. I’ll give you custody of Ava. Just… don’t let me lose everything.”
“Everything?” I laughed. “You still don’t get it, do you? You already lost everything. You lost it five years ago when you chose Bianca over me. When you chose pride over love. When you chose to be cruel instead of kind.”
“I can change—”
“No, you can’t. Because you don’t think you did anything wrong. Even now, you’re not here because you want to make amends. You’re here because you need something from me.”
I walked to my desk and pressed the intercom. “James, Mr. Monroe is leaving now.”
“Ma’am—”
“Now, James.”
Damon stared at me as if he’d never seen me before. “You’ve become cold.”
“I’ve become strong. There’s a difference.”
“The Elise I married would never—”
“The Elise you married is dead,” I said simply. “You killed her. Congratulations.”
Security appeared in the doorway, and Damon finally understood that this conversation was over.
“This isn’t finished,” he said as they escorted him out.
“Yes, it is,” I called after him. “It finished the day you decided I wasn’t worth fighting for.”
After he was gone, I sat alone in my corner office, the city lights blinking like distant stars below. For the first time in five years, I allowed myself to think about what came next.
Tomorrow, I would start the process of finally divorcing the man who’d never deserved me.
Tomorrow, I would begin the delicate work of rebuilding a relationship with the daughter I’d never stopped loving.
Tomorrow—
My phone buzzed. Unknown number.
I almost ignored it—it was nearly 1 AM, and I’d had enough drama for one night. But something made me answer.
“Hello?”
Silence. Then, a voice I’d hoped never to hear again.
“Hello, sister.”
My blood turned to ice. “Bianca.”
“Miss me? I’ve certainly missed our little family. Especially sweet little Ava.”
“What do you want?”
Her laugh was like poisoned honey. “Oh, Elise. Still so direct. I always admired that about you. Too bad it won’t save you this time.”
“If you think you can threaten me—”
“Check your daughter’s bedroom,” she interrupted, her voice suddenly deadly serious. “Call Damon. Ask him to go upstairs and look in Ava’s room. I’ll wait.”
My hands were shaking as I speed-dialed Damon’s number. He answered on the first ring, his voice thick with sleep.
“Elise? What the hell—”
“Go to Ava’s room. Now.”
“What? Why would I—”
“Just do it!” I screamed.
I heard him moving, muttering under his breath, his footsteps on the stairs. The sound of a door opening.
Then silence.
“Damon?”
“She’s…” His voice broke. “She’s not here. Her bed hasn’t been slept in. There’s a note.”
“What does it say?”
“‘Gone to see Mommy’s sister. Don’t worry, she’s safe with family.'” A pause. “Elise, what the fuck is going on?”
Bianca’s laughter filled my ear through the other phone. “Surprise! Ava and I are having a lovely reunion. She’s told me so much about her life. Did you know she’s been having nightmares about the mother who abandoned her?”
“You bitch,” I whispered. “If you hurt her—”
“Hurt her? I would never hurt my darling niece. But I do think it’s time we had a family meeting. All of us together. Just like old times.”
“What do you want?”
“Justice, sister dear. You took everything from me—my inheritance, my family, my life. Now I’m going to take everything from you.”
“Bianca, please. She’s just a child—”
“So was I when Daddy chose you over me. When he left everything to his precious legitimate daughter and gave me nothing but scraps.”
The line went dead.
I stared at the phone in my hand, my empire suddenly meaningless, my power useless. For all my billions, all my success, all my carefully constructed walls—I couldn’t protect the one thing that mattered most.
My daughter was gone.
And the game I thought I’d won had only just begun.
