Chapter 10 - The Fourteenth Candle
The tinted glass doors of Vance Holdings parted with a quiet hum.
Eleanor Vance walked through them, and as always, people noticed her.
They noticed the immaculate ivory trench coat. The sapphire pendant. But mostly, they noticed the lack of shadows beneath her eyes. They noticed the terrifying, brilliant spark of a woman who had fought through hell and reclaimed her throne.
She walked into the executive boardroom. The seat at her right, once occupied by Marcus, was empty. Marcus was currently residing in federal prison, awaiting trial for embezzlement, kidnapping, and the assassination of a United States Senator. Vance Holdings had been purged, the rot cut out with surgical precision. Jax was officially on the payroll now, acting as the head of global security.
Eleanor signed the final document finalizing the merger, slammed the folder shut, and stood up.
"Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. We are adjourned," she said briskly.
"Ms. Vance, what about the Tokyo acquisitions?" a board member asked.
"They can wait until Monday," Eleanor said, checking her gold watch. "I have a very important engagement."
She left the tower and got into the back of her town car. The drive to the penthouse was peaceful. When the elevator doors opened, the apartment wasn't silent or empty.
Video game sounds blasted from the living room. Jax was sitting on the designer sofa, looking severely out of place as he aggressively mashed the buttons on a controller, losing badly to the fourteen-year-old boy sitting cross-legged beside him.
"You gotta check your corners, man," Leo laughed, nudging the hardened mercenary.
Eleanor smiled, a genuine, radiant expression that lit up the room. She walked to the kitchen island and set down a large pastry box.
Leo paused the game, scrambling over the back of the sofa, running to the kitchen.
Eleanor untied the ribbon. She opened the box.
Inside sat a massive, decadent chocolate cake. Not red velvet. Leo had mentioned he outgrew red velvet when he was nine.
Sticking out of the rich frosting were fourteen brightly lit silver candles.
May you like
Leo looked up at her, his green eyes bright and alive. "Make a wish, Mom?"
"No need," Eleanor Vance said softly, wrapping her arm around her son's shoulders and pulling him close. "It already came true."
