Chapter 2 - THE FINAL GOODBYE
Elena stood up slowly,
ignoring the sting of the glass shards still clinging to her skin.
She looked at Richard,
her eyes devoid of the love she had once held for him.
She did not scream,
she did not cry,
and she did not beg for an apology.
There was no need for words anymore,
because the silence spoke volumes about the death of her marriage.
I am leaving,
Elena stated,
her voice steady and calm.
She turned toward the hallway,
her steps echoing on the cold marble floor.
Richard stood up,
startled by her sudden departure.
Elena,
don’t be dramatic,
he stammered,
fearing what his mother would say if she walked out.
Sit down and clean this mess up.
Elena stopped in her tracks,
turning her head slightly to look back at him.
She smiled,
a cold,
calculated expression that made Richard shiver.
The only mess here,
Richard,
is you,
she said softly.
She walked out of the dining room without looking back.
She went upstairs to their bedroom,
her movements precise and efficient.
She gathered only what belonged to her,
which was very little in this house of opulence.
She took her passport,
her identification,
and the small,
locked box she had kept hidden at the back of her closet for three long years.
She didn't need their clothes,
their jewelry,
or their tainted gifts.
As she packed,
she remembered the phone call she had received just yesterday.
A voice from her past,
a reminder of the life she had left behind for love.
She pulled out her phone and dialed a number she had never dared to use in this house.
It rang once,
and a voice answered instantly.
The Queen has returned,
the voice said,
reverent and firm.
Prepare the way,
Elena commanded,
her tone regal and authoritative.
Everything is ready for your arrival,
the voice replied.
She put the phone away and walked out of the Vance mansion.
The night air was biting,
but it felt like freedom against her burned skin.
She stood on the driveway,
looking back at the looming silhouette of the house.
The Vances thought they had broken her,
but they had only stripped away her disguise.
A black luxury car pulled up silently at the curb.
The driver stepped out,
opening the door for her with a bow.
Elena stepped inside,
leaving behind the woman who had begged for love,
and embracing the woman who would soon demand justice.
The car sped away into the night,
leaving the Vance legacy behind,
on a collision course with a storm they never saw coming.
She wasn't going to hide anymore.
She wasn't going to be a servant anymore.
The world was about to see exactly who Elena was,
and she would ensure the Vance family was the first to witness her rise.
She looked at the lights of the city,
promising herself that she would own them before the year was out.
Richard was a ghost of her past now.
Victoria was a warning she would no longer heed.
The game had changed,
May you like
and for the first time in years,
Elena was holding all the cards.
