Chapter 5: After the Applause
The ballroom buzzed with shock.
Avery walked away.
Not triumphant.
Not smiling.
Just… finished.
In the hallway, the silence hit her.
Cold marble. Distant voices.
Her hands began to shake.
Not from fear.
From release.
Footsteps approached.
Eleanor placed a jacket over her shoulders.
“You did well.”
That nearly broke her.
Not sympathy.
Not pity.
Respect.
For years, they had misunderstood her.
Quiet didn’t mean weak.
It meant controlled.
Focused.
Ready.
Upstairs, lawyers waited.
Papers were placed in front of her.
Interim CEO.
A pen.
“Tomorrow will be brutal,” Eleanor said.
Avery signed.
“No,” she replied. “Tomorrow will be honest.”
For the first time in years—
That felt like enough.
