Chapter 5: Grace Over Vengeance
In the Sterling penthouse, Arthur reviewed the legal documents that would officially bankrupt Victoria. He expected a sense of satisfaction, but he felt nothing. Maya walked into his study and placed a hand over the papers. "Dad, stop," she said quietly.
"She humiliated you, Maya. She needs to learn," Arthur replied, his protective instincts flaring.
"She lost her store. She lost her status," Maya said, her eyes filled with an exhaustion that made her look older than her twenty years. "If you crush her completely, you aren't teaching her a lesson. You're just proving that power is meant to be weaponized. Let it go. I don't want my mother's memory associated with someone's ruin." Arthur looked at his daughter, struck by a grace that humbled him completely. He signed the dismissal of the lawsuit.
