Chapter 5: Scorched Earth<\/p>\n
\u201cMia, please, no!\u201d Susan wailed, the crocodile tears flowing freely now. She practically threw herself out of the chair, walking around the desk and reaching out her arms to embrace me. \u201cWe didn\u2019t know! We didn\u2019t understand how sick you were! We were just so stressed with Chloe\u2019s business! We love you so much, baby! We can fix this. Just\u2026 just give us a chance to make it right. We\u2019re your family! You can\u2019t leave your own flesh and blood with absolutely nothing!\u201d<\/p>\n
I stood perfectly still and looked down at her grasping, manicured hands. These were the hands that had never held my forehead when I was sick as a child. These were the hands that had physically pushed me out of family photos so Chloe could be in the center. These were hands that were now desperately reaching for my limitless wallet, not my fractured heart.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo not touch me,\u201d I commanded. The instruction was so sharp, so utterly devoid of warmth, that she froze mid-step, her hands hovering in the air like a mime.<\/p>\n
I reached back and pressed a discreet silver button on the intercom panel on my desk. \u201cSecurity. I have three unauthorized individuals in the executive suite. Escort the guests out immediately. They are trespassing, and they are hostile.\u201d<\/p>\n
Less than ten seconds later, the heavy oak doors swung open. Two massive men in tailored dark suits entered the room silently. They looked like mountains, moving with terrifying, practiced efficiency.<\/p>\n
\u201cMia!\u201d Robert shouted, his bravado instantly shattering as the larger of the two guards stepped into his personal space. He tried one last, desperate attempt to summon the patriarchal authority he used to wield over me like a club. \u201cI am your father! You owe me! I raised you! I put a roof over your head and food in your mouth for eighteen years! You cannot throw us out onto the street like garbage!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou raised a scapegoat,\u201d I said, looking at him with nothing but pure, unadulterated pity. \u201cAnd you raised a narcissistic monster. You did a categorically terrible job with both of us. The debt is settled.\u201d<\/p>\n
I turned my back on them and walked over to the floor-to-ceiling window, looking out at the sprawling metropolis I practically owned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere will we live?\u201d Susan wailed, her voice cracking as the reality of her impending homelessness finally crushed her delusions. \u201cWe have no savings, Mia! We have nowhere to go!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI hear the rental market in the outer suburbs is tough right now, but character-building,\u201d I said to their pathetic reflections in the glass. \u201cMaybe Chloe can finally use her \u2018unparalleled business genius\u2019 to find you a nice, affordable one-bedroom apartment near a bus line. You\u2019ll all have to share a single bathroom, but I\u2019m sure you\u2019ll make it work. Family sticks together, right?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re a monster!\u201d Chloe spat venomously as the second guard firmly grabbed her by both upper arms, lifting her to her feet to drag her toward the door. \u201cYou\u2019re an evil, jealous sociopath!\u201d<\/p>\n
I slowly turned around and smiled at her. It was the first genuine, unforced smile I had worn in a week. I felt it reach all the way to my eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, Chloe,\u201d I said softly. \u201cI\u2019m the load-bearing pillar. I\u2019m the invisible foundation that held the roof up over your heads for your entire adult lives while you danced and took the credit. And I just decided to step out of the way. Watch out for the falling debris.\u201d<\/p>\n
They were dragged out of the suite, screaming, begging, cursing my name, their voices echoing down the marble hallway until the elevator doors finally, mercifully, slid shut.<\/p>\n
When the heavy oak doors of my office clicked shut, the silence that fell over the room was exquisite. It wasn\u2019t a lonely, empty silence. It was profoundly peaceful. It sounded exactly like the heavy, suffocating pack being dropped from my shoulders after a twenty-year hike up a muddy mountain.<\/p>\n
Michael walked in a moment later from his adjoining office, holding a sleek digital tablet and looking slightly pale.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was\u2026 intense,\u201d he said, letting out a long breath.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was necessary,\u201d I replied, walking back to my desk and taking a deep breath of the cool, conditioned air. \u201cDid the wire transfer default trigger go through?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, Boss,\u201d Michael said, tapping the screen. \u201cChloe\u2019s company is officially in default. It is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Titanium Ventures. We have absolute control of all operating accounts and intellectual property. We can begin liquidating the physical assets and selling off the codebase by Monday morning.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo it,\u201d I said, sitting back down in my chair. \u201cStrip it entirely for parts. Sell the expensive office furniture, sell the code to our competitors for pennies, burn the brand name to the ground. I don\u2019t want a single trace of her ego left in this city by next Friday.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael nodded, recognizing the finality in my voice. He handed me the tablet to sign the final authorization. I pressed my thumb to the scanner.<\/p>\n
The old Mia was dead.
\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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