Chapter 10
The first pale streaks of dawn cut through the stained-glass windows of the Sterling Estate, casting long, fractured shadows across the grand ballroom. The glittering confetti and gold dust scattered on the marble floor no longer looked festive; in the cold light of morning, they resembled debris after a storm. Staff members moved quietly through the rooms with brooms and trash bags, cleaning up the physical remnants of a wedding that would be remembered in financial history textbooks rather than society columns.
Outside, the manicured lawns stretched toward the horizon under a pale gray sky. Victoria stood on the stone terrace overlooking the gardens, wearing a simple woolen coat over her slip dress. The biting morning air nipped at her cheeks, but she welcomed the sensation. It was real. For the first time in her life, she wasn't hiding behind an elaborate gown, a curated social circle, or her father’s formidable shadow.
Footsteps crunched on the gravel path behind her. Victoria turned to see Helena walking toward her, holding two paper cups of simple, black coffee. Helena stopped a few paces away, extending one of the cups toward the younger woman.
Victoria hesitated for a moment before taking the cup, her fingers wrapping around the warm cardboard. "I didn't expect to find you still here," Victoria said quietly, her breath pluming in the chilly air.
"I wanted to see how the morning looked from this side of the wall," Helena replied, taking a slow sip of her coffee. Her dark hair was loose now, blowing slightly in the morning breeze, free of the formal styling of the previous night.
"It's cold," Victoria remarked, looking out over the silent estate. "And terrifying."
"It's honest," Helena countered softly. "Truth usually is."
Victoria looked down at the paper cup, wrestling with the complex tangle of emotions she felt toward the woman standing beside her. Helena was the architect of her family's ruin, yet she was also the catalyst for her own liberation. The irony was not lost on her.
"My father is cooperating with the investigators," Victoria said, her voice steady. "He gave them the passwords to the encrypted servers at dawn. Everything is coming out. All of it."
Helena nodded slowly. "It’s the only decent thing he could have done. It won't erase the past, but it stops the bleeding."
"What do you do now, Helena?" Victoria asked, turning her gaze fully toward her. "Now that it's over. Now that you've won."
May you like
Helena smiled faintly, a genuine, quiet expression that reached her eyes for the first time. "I start living a life that isn't defined by what was taken from me. And you?"
Victoria looked back out at the horizon, where the sun was finally breaking through the gray clouds, bathing the estate in a warm, unshielded light. "I suppose I finally learn who I am when the gold is all gone."
