Chapter 9 - The View from the Winner’s Circle
One year after the Fan Cam tore my life apart, the sun was shining brightly over the lakefront in Chicago.
The Oak Park house looked entirely different now. The dark, oppressive mahogany office had been torn out, replaced by a sun-drenched studio where I ran my new medical consulting firm—a business I had launched with the help of a seed grant from the Vance Foundation. The walls were painted warm cream, the garden was overflowing with white hydrangeas, and every single lock on every door was brand new.
I stood in front of the full-length mirror in the entryway, smoothing down the lapels of my new coat.
It was cashmere. Pure, brilliant, unapologetic emerald green.
I had bought it for myself with my first profit distribution. No sales, no compromises, no husband’s approval required. It fit my shoulders like armor.
The doorbell rang.
I opened it to find Rachel standing on the porch, holding two large iced lattes and grinning ear to ear. Behind her, parked at the curb, was Elena Vance in a sleek convertible, waving enthusiastically from the driver’s seat.
"Are you ready, boss?" Rachel asked, handing me my drink. "The charity gala starts in an hour, and Marcus Vance told the board that if his two favorite business partners aren't seated at the head table, he’s pulling his funding."
"I’m ready," I laughed, stepping out onto the porch and locking the door behind me.
As we walked down the brick path toward Elena’s car, my phone chimed in my purse with a news alert.
I pulled it out and glanced at the screen:
*LOCAL NEWS: Disgraced Logistics Director Daniel Henderson Transferred to Minimum Security to Begin Court-Ordered Community Labor.*
I stared at the headline for three seconds.
There was no sudden spike of adrenaline. No tightening in my chest. No tears, no bitter triumph. He was simply a stranger whose name I used to know, paying a debt he owed to society, entirely irrelevant to the woman I had become.
I swiped the notification away, clearing it from my screen forever.
"Everything okay?" Rachel asked, pausing with her hand on the car door.
May you like
I looked at my sister. I looked at Elena, who was laughing as she adjusted the music on the stereo. I looked down at the vibrant green sleeves of my coat, and then out toward the endless, sparkling blue horizon of the city ahead.
"Everything," I smiled, stepping into the car and letting the warm autumn wind catch my hair, "is finally perfect."
