Chapter 7 - THE DUST SETTLES
The next morning,
the news broke.
The Ellis Fall: From Society Darlings to Financial Ruins.
The headlines were everywhere.
The footage of Chloe’s arrest went viral.
The video of the soup swap was leaked to the press.
I didn't have to say a word.
The public did it for me.
My mother called me a hundred times.
I finally answered.
“Maya!”
she sobbed.
“How could you do this to your own sister?”
“She’s in a cell!”
“We’re at a motel!”
“The bank took everything!”
I looked at the view from my new office.
“I didn't do it,
Mom.”
“Chloe did it.”
“She tried to kill me for a laugh.”
“And you watched.”
“We didn't know!”
she cried.
“We thought you were being dramatic!”
“That’s the problem,”
I said.
“You always thought I was the disappointment.”
“You always thought I was the one who didn't reach her potential.”
“Well,
my potential was always there.”
“I just had to stop spending it on you.”
I hung up.
I blocked her number.
I blocked my father’s number.
I was done being an apology.
Julian walked in with a tray of food.
Not soup.
Solid food.
“The assets have been liquidated,”
he said.
“The charity is fully funded.”
“And Trent?”
“Trent is cooperating,”
Julian said.
“He’s giving up everything he knows about your father’s offshore accounts in exchange for a lighter sentence.”
I smiled.
“There’s no honor among the Ellises.”
“None at all.”
Julian sat on the edge of my desk.
“So,
what’s next?”
“The Obsidian Room is famous now.”
“People are calling from all over the world for a table.”
I looked at the blueprints on my wall.
“I’m going to open a second one.”
“In London.”
“Then Tokyo.”
“I’m going to build a brand that stands for more than just money.”
“I’m going to build a brand that stands for the truth.”
Julian reached out.
He touched my hand.
His skin was warm.
“I think you’ve already done that,
Maya.”
I looked at our hands.
“I want to go back to the restaurant,”
I said.
“I want to cook.”
“Not as a line cook.”
“But as the owner.”
“I want to make something beautiful.”
“Something that heals.”
Julian nodded.
“I’ll have the car ready.”
We drove to The Obsidian Room.
The street was crowded with people.
But they weren't the old Atlanta money.
They were regular people.
People who had heard the story of the daughter who fought back.
I walked through the front doors.
Marcus and the staff were waiting.
They cheered.
I walked into the kitchen.
I picked up my knife.
I felt the weight of it.
I felt the sharp edge.
I wasn't dangerous because of my money.
I was dangerous because I knew how to build something from nothing.
I started to prep the onions.
The rhythm was a prayer.
The sound was a song.
I was Maya Ellis.
I was a chef.
I was a CEO.
And I was alive.
The world was looking at me.
And for the first time,
I didn't want to hide.
I looked at the door.
Julian was standing there.
He smiled.
I smiled back.
May you like
The meal was over.
But the feast was just beginning.
