Chapter 1 - The Shockwave
The silence in the flooded municipal lobby was absolute, save for the sound of murky water dripping from Clara’s rubber boots.
Thomas Vance’s face turned the color of wet ash. Eleanor stumbled backward, her hand flying to her pearl necklace as if someone had just tried to snatch it from her throat. The high-priced zoning attorney, a slick man named Davis, looked frantically between his wealthy clients and the woman holding the mop.
“Mayor Vance?” Davis stammered, oblivious to the family connection. “I... I apologize. We had an early appointment with the zoning board, and we didn't expect the Mayor herself to be doing maintenance work.”
“It’s Mayor Hayes, actually,” Clara corrected, her voice echoing off the marble walls. She had legally taken Martha’s last name years ago. “And in Oakhaven, public servants actually serve the public, Mr. Davis. We don't just sit in ivory towers.”
Thomas finally found his voice, though it sounded like it was being squeezed through a vice. “Clara? Is it... is it really you?”
“It is,” Clara said, leaning the mop against the wall. “And I assume you are here regarding the expedited commercial zoning permits for the Riverfront Luxury Condos?”
Eleanor swallowed hard, her previous cruelty entirely replaced by a sickening, desperate panic. “Clara, darling. It’s been so long. We... we thought you were at boarding school. We lost touch!”
Clara didn’t flinch. The audacity to call being locked out in the freezing rain "losing touch" was staggering.
May you like
“You didn’t lose touch, Mrs. Vance. You changed the locks,” Clara stated with icy precision. “My office will review your zoning application thoroughly. Just like everyone else’s. Have a pleasant morning.”
Clara turned her back on them and walked toward the freight elevator, leaving her biological parents standing in the muddy water of their own ruined arrogance.
