Chapter 3

A week later, I walked out of the medical facility. The sun was bright, and for the first time in a long time, I didn't flinch from it. My father had already secured Ava from the nanny Julius had left her with. She was safe, tucked away in one of our family's secure compounds, surrounded by therapists and loving faces.

My first stop wasn't to see her. My first stop was the office. Our office.

Carroll & Whitehead.

I walked into the sleek, minimalist lobby I had designed myself. The receptionist, a young woman I'd hired, looked up, her eyes widening in surprise.

"Mrs. Carroll! You're back!"

I gave her a small, tight smile and walked towards my office. The one with the corner view of the skyline. My name was still on the door, but my key card beeped red. Access denied.

From inside, I heard Kenzie's light, tinkling laughter.

I pushed the door open. Kenzie was sitting behind my desk, my chair, her feet propped up on my rare oak table. She was showing a design on her tablet to a few junior architects I had personally mentored.

"Oh, Florence," she said, her voice dripping with fake sympathy. "You're out of the hospital. You look... tired."

"This is my office," I said.

One of the young architects, a boy named Leo, had the decency to look ashamed. "Florence, we didn't know... Julius said..."

"It's alright, Leo," I said, my voice even. "It's not your fault."

Leo looked relieved. "It's good to have you back. Honestly, this new project is a disaster. Kenzie offended the chief planner from the city council. A man we have been trying to woo for six months. He said he's terminating all future considerations with our firm."

Kenzie's face tightened. "He was a pig! He wouldn't stop staring at my chest."

"He's also the man who holds the zoning permits for half of lower Manhattan," I said flatly. "A fact you might have learned if you'd bothered to read the file."

I didn't care about the firm anymore. It was a sinking ship, and I was just here to salvage my lifeboat. The fact that Kenzie was the one drilling holes in the hull was just a bonus.

Kenzie stood up, her face a mask of indignation. "How dare you speak to me like that! After everything you've done!"

Just then, Julius strode in, drawn by the sound of her raised voice. He immediately went to her side, wrapping a protective arm around her.

"What's going on? Florence, why are you harassing Kenzie?"

"She's trying to blame me for her own incompetence!" Kenzie wailed, burying her face in his chest. "The staff won't listen to me. They still see her as their boss. It's not fair."

She pulled back, looking up at him with tear-filled eyes. "Maybe... maybe I should just go. This was her company first. I'm just an outsider."

"Nonsense," Julius soothed, stroking her hair. He looked at me, his eyes hard as stone. "Florence, this is unacceptable. Kenzie is the new creative director. You will report to her."

I just stared at him.

"And for your insubordination," he continued, a cruel smirk on his face, "you're suspended for a month. Without pay. Maybe that will teach you some respect."

I felt the eyes of the entire office on us. The humiliation was thick, palpable. He was making a show of breaking me.

"Julius," I said, my voice dangerously quiet. "This firm is half mine. The name on the door is Whitehead."

"A name you're about to lose," he sneered.

I smiled. It was a cold, sharp thing. "Fine. You want the company? You can have it. Buy me out."

He was taken aback. This wasn't part of his plan.

"What?"

"I'll sell you my forty-nine percent stake," I said. "But I want a premium. Let's say... one hundred million dollars."

It was an outrageous price, far above market value. The company was already bleeding from the scandals and Kenzie's mismanagement.

Kenzie's eyes lit up. "Julius, do it! Then she'll be gone for good!"

Julius hesitated, staring at me. "You're doing this out of jealousy, aren't you? You can't stand to see Kenzie succeed in your place."

I laughed out loud. It was a raw, humorless sound. "Succeed? Julius, she's running it into the ground. And you? You're not worthy of wiping my shoes, let alone running my company."

His face contorted in a mask of fury. "You bitch!"

He turned to his assistant. "Get legal in here. Draw up the papers. One hundred million. I want her out of my sight."

He turned back to me, his eyes glittering. "Now, for your disrespect." He looked at Kenzie. "Kenzie, darling, she insulted you. I think she owes you an apology."

He then nodded to the two large security guards who had materialized at the door. "Hold her."

The guards grabbed my arms, their grips like iron. They pinned me against the wall.

"Kenzie," Julius said, his voice a soft, evil purr. "She's all yours."

Kenzie looked frightened for a second, a flicker of her true, weak nature showing through. But then she looked at Julius, at his encouraging smile, and a sick excitement filled her eyes.

She walked up to me and slapped me across the face. The sound cracked through the silent office.

My head snapped back. My cheek stung.

She hit me again. And again. She was clumsy, weak, but Julius was guiding her. "Harder, darling. She can take it."

He ordered the guards to join in. One by one, they slapped me, their faces blank and professional. The whole office watched. My former colleagues, the people I had trained, stood silent as I was publicly, brutally humiliated.

My face went from stinging to numb. I couldn't feel the pain anymore. All I could feel was a deep, glacial coldness spreading through me. I looked at Julius's face, twisted with pleasure. I looked at Kenzie's, alight with vicious triumph.

I have to remember this, I thought. I have to burn this moment into my memory.

I have to remember what it felt like to be nothing, so I can remember what it feels like to destroy everything they are.