Chapter 6 - THE PRICE OF BETRAYAL
The rest of the night was a blur of high-level introductions and genuine respect.
I moved through the ballroom with the grace of someone who had finally found their place.
CEOs who had ignored Spencer earlier were now eager to talk to me.
Investors were asking for my opinion on the market.
I wasn't the 'sad wife' anymore.
I was the power behind the throne.
Meanwhile,
Spencer and Paisley had been escorted to the lobby.
The security team made sure they didn't linger.
Reports started coming in that Conway Tech’s board was already calling for an emergency meeting.
The news of Spencer’s public disgrace was spreading through the industry like wildfire.
My father and I sat at the head table,
watching the city lights through the floor-to-ceiling windows.
“He’s going to lose it all, Phoebe,”
Raymond said,
taking a sip of his wine.
“The bank will call in the loans tomorrow morning.”
“Without my support,
the board will oust him by noon.”
“Conway Tech will be liquidated by the end of the week.”
I looked at the ruby reflecting in the candlelight.
“I don't want his company, Dad.”
“I want him to understand the value of what he lost.”
“Oh, he understands,”
Raymond said.
“He’s currently sitting in his SUV,
realizing that he just traded a diamond for a piece of glass.”
I thought about the house in Shaker Heights.
I thought about the three years I had spent trying to be enough.
It felt like a lifetime ago.
“What about Paisley?”
“She’ll disappear as soon as the money does,”
my father said.
“Women like her don't stay for the bankruptcy hearings.”
I felt a strange sense of closure.
The revenge wasn't about the money or the status.
It was about the truth.
Spencer had lived a lie for so long that he had forgotten how to recognize something real.
He had thought I was the one who would embarrass him.
In the end,
he was the only one who had failed.
As the gala began to wind down,
Marcus Thorne came over to our table.
“Phoebe, we’re having a small after-party in the suite.”
“We’d love for you to join us.”
I looked at my father,
who gave me a nod.
“I think I’ve had enough galas for one night,”
I said,
smiling.
“I’m going home.”
“The Harrell estate?”
“No,”
I said.
“My own place.”
I realized that I didn't want to live under my father’s shadow either.
I had the resources to build my own empire now.
May you like
And this time,
I would do it with my eyes wide open.
