Chapter 9 - The View from the Top
Another year passed.
On a warm Father's Day evening, I hosted a quiet dinner on the rooftop terrace of my private residence overlooking the city skyline.
There were no massive ice sculptures, no rowdy relatives shouting over each other, and no cruel jokes made at anyone's expense.
Around the long, beautifully set wooden table sat Julian Vance, my lead engineering team, two of my closest friends from my early working days, and Elise. Grant had sent a lovely bouquet of flowers from Ohio, where he had just passed his professional engineering board exams.
Laughter drifted softly across the terrace as the sun dipped below the horizon, painting the sky in deep shades of gold and violet.
Julian raised his glass, looking across the table at me. "To CEO Nora Hale. Who proved that silence is the loudest voice in the room."
Everyone raised their glasses, clinking them together warmly. "To Nora!"
I smiled, raising my glass with them.
As my guests chatted happily, I walked over to the edge of the terrace, leaning against the glass balustrade and looking out at the city below. The lights of the skyline flickered like a million stars.
Among those lights were the buildings I owned, the affordable housing projects I had built, and the community centers I had funded.
I pulled my phone from my pocket and unlocked the screen.
Saved in my private photos was a picture taken three years ago at that dreadful Father’s Day dinner—the night I had walked away from my family's cruelty forever. I looked at the image of young Nora, quiet, overlooked, and sitting at the end of the table while everyone laughed.
May you like
I tapped the screen and permanently deleted the photo.
I didn't need that memory anymore. The ghost of Nora Hale, the family disappointment, was finally gone.
