« Daddy! » Ava shrieked, her green satin dress rustling as she lunged forward. She turned her venomous gaze on me. « You ruined my birthday! You ruined everything! Give me that deed! »
She clawed at the table, but one of the investigators smoothly intercepted her.
« I’d step back, miss, » the investigator warned. « Given the massive paper trail of wire transfers to your personal accounts over the last five years, we’ll be looking very closely at your complicity next. »
Ava froze, all the color draining from her perfectly contoured face. The spoiled princess had finally met a problem that a tantrum couldn’t fix.
I smoothed down my dress and picked up the unsigned deed. I looked at the man who had tormented me, belittled me, and used me as a prop for his entire life. He looked incredibly small now—just a sweating, terrified old man in a bespoke tuxedo.
« You were right about one thing, Dad, » I said, my voice steady and echoing clearly across the silent room. « Everything you own came from lies. And I’m done paying for them. »
I slipped my hand into Nathan’s. He gave my fingers a reassuring, warm squeeze. Without another word, we turned our backs on the wreckage of the Mercer family empire.
We walked down the center aisle of the ballroom. The five hundred guests parted for us in absolute silence, stepping aside like the Red Sea. Nobody raised a glass. Nobody took a photo.
When we pushed through the heavy double doors and stepped out into the cool, salty Miami night air, I took a deep breath. For the first time in my life, I felt completely free.
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