Chapter 8 - The Reclamation
A year after the hospital room confrontation, the Lincoln Park brownstone was filled with light, music, and the sound of laughter.
It was Maya’s first birthday.
The garden was filled with white and pink balloons. Celeste was there, wearing a simple summer dress, holding a tray of cupcakes she had spent the morning baking with Clara. She had started her own interior design firm, and her first major client had been The Mercer Collection. We were no longer tied by the ghost of Dominic; we were two women who had survived the same storm and built something solid on the other side.
Arthur Vance sat on a teak bench near the hydrangeas, holding Maya on his knee and showing her a pocket watch that chimed every hour. The stern billionaire who had almost bought a fraudulent hotel chain now looked like a doting grandfather.
Simone walked over to me, handing me a glass of iced tea.
"Dominic’s legal team sent over the final relinquishment papers today," she said quietly. "Full termination of parental rights, clean waiver of any future claims against Maya’s trust. He signed them yesterday in exchange for the trust dropping the remaining civil restitution claims."
I looked over at my daughter, who was currently clapping her hands as Arthur made the watch chime again.
May you like
"It’s completely over," I said, feeling a deep, profound lightness settle into my chest.
"It was over the second you pushed that call button in the hospital, Evelyn," Simone said softly. "Everything since then has just been the world catching up to you."
