10
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I moved out.
I settled into a sprawling penthouse I owned downtown, with a panoramic view of the city skyline.
My parents didn’t contact me. I knew they were struggling, caught between their pride and their fear of the public humiliation a
lawsuit would bring. A legal battle would be far more scandalous than a broken engagement.
I had given them a deadline. If they didn’t decide by then, I wouldn’t wait.
For three days, I did nothing. I slept in, watched movies, played video games. I did all the things I never had time for before. I disco vered that life, free from all the drama, could be incredibly peaceful.
On On the third night, my lawyer called.
“Miss Caldwell, the agreement has been signed. Your father has transferred thirty–five percent of the corporation’s stock into your
name.”
Five percent more than I’d asked for.
I knew it was my
father’s final concession. Perhaps even an apology.
“Also,” lawyer added, “he left a message for you.”
“He said… he said you should come home to visit when you have the time.”
I held the phone, silent for a long moment.
Finally, I just said, “I understand.”
After hanging up, I walked to the floor–to–ceiling windows. I looked out at the glittering expanse of city lights and felt a sudden urge
to cry.
But I didn’t.
From the moment those bizarre memories flooded my mind, I’d made myself a promise: no more tears. Tears were the most usel-
ess currency in the world.
The next day, the Caldwell Corporation’s official website released a statement.
It announced that !, Zoe Caldwell, had been appointed the new Chief Executive Officer. My father was stepping back, retaining only
the honorary title of Chairman.
The news sent shockwaves through the business world. No one had expected our family’s quiet war to end like this.
Neither had I.
I thought I would leave, go somewhere no one knew me, and live out my days in blissful freedom with my fortune.
But in the end, I stayed.
Because I finally understood something.
Running away solves nothing.
True freedom is only achieved when you become powerful enough to set the rules yourself.
Chapter 2
On my first day as CEO, I fired every single employee who had gotten their job through nepotism.
That included Luna Hayes, whom my father had given a token position.
She came to my office to plead her case.
I refused to see her.
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I had Laura give her a message: “Ms. Caldwell says this is a corporation, not a charity. If you want to work here, prove your worth. If you can’t, then get out of the way.”
I heard she left the city after that. Where she went, I didn’t know and didn’t care.
Ethan, Chloe, all the people who had brought chaos into
my life, slowly faded away, disappearing back into the anonymous masses.
My life finally became what it was always supposed to
- be.
My days were demanding, but they were mine.
Sometimes, I think about that ridiculous novel, about that so–called “destiny.”
And smile.
What is destiny?
It’s an excuse for the weak and a humblebrag for the strong.
They say money can’t buy happiness.
Maybe they’re right.
But it can buy pleasure. It can buy dignity. And it can buy freedom.
It gives you the power to look injustice and idiocy in the eye and say, “Get lost.”
And for me, that’s enough.
As for happiness… who knows.
Perhaps, when I’m standing at the top of the world, looking down at the empire I built with my own two hands…
Perhaps that feeling is it.
