Clara: Where am I supposed to go now?
Clara sat on the cold concrete park bench outside the gate, holding her small canvas bag. Rain began to fall softly against her face, washing away the blood on her lip.
Driver: Ma'am? Is that Mrs. Vance?
Clara: I'm not Mrs. Vance anymore, Thomas.
Driver: Mr. Vance told me to bring your suitcase, but... Mrs. Evelyn took all your jewelry and clothes.
Clara: She took everything. Even my mother's ring.
Driver: I shouldn't be saying this, but here. Take this cab money.
Clara: I can't take your savings, Thomas.
Driver: Please, ma'am. You were the only one in that mansion who treated us like humans.
Clara took the fifty dollars with a soft thank you and boarded the bus to the city center. Her mind raced back to the five years she spent trapped in the Vance estate, enduring endless insults from Evelyn while Julian stayed silent.
Clara: I was so foolish to believe him.
She pulled out her old phone, the screen cracked from the fall. A notification popped up from a private legal firm in New York.
Attorney Hayes: Ms. Clara Sterling? We have been trying to reach you for six months.
Clara: I was not allowed to check my private emails at the house.
Attorney Hayes: Your biological grandfather's estate probate has finally closed. We need you in New York immediately.
Clara: My grandfather? He died fifteen years ago.
Attorney Hayes: Yes, but his trust fund was locked until your thirtieth birthday. You are the sole heir to the Sterling Logistics empire.
Clara gripped the phone tightly against her ear as the bus rolled through the rainy night.
Clara: How much is the estate worth?
Attorney Hayes: Three billion dollars in commercial real estate and shipping assets, including the mortgages on Vance Enterprise.
Clara: The Vance family mortgages?
Attorney Hayes: Yes. They borrowed heavily against their estate last year. Your trust owns their entire debt.
Clara wiped the rest of her tears away, a cold smile forming on her face for the first time in years.
Clara: Book me the first flight to Manhattan, Mr. Hayes.
Attorney Hayes: Right away, Ms. Sterling. What about your husband?
Clara: Send him the divorce papers tomorrow morning. And tell him to start packing.