Chapter 301:

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The morning after the broadcast, Elisa was sitting in a private corner booth at an exclusive, members-only cafe near Aethel HQ. The sun streamed through the windows as she checked her laptop, sorting through a flurry of congratulatory emails. The internet was buzzing with clips of her segment. “Faye” was trending. Allena was a punchline.

The peace was shattered when two women suddenly slid into the booth across from her. Allena, wearing oversized sunglasses to hide what looked like puffy eyes, and her mother, Rosalind Sinclair. They were dressed to the nines, radiating the cold, hard arrogance of old money.

Elisa considered calling security to throw them out. Then she considered the satisfaction of facing them down instead. She slowly closed her laptop.

“What do you want?” she asked.

Rosalind leaned forward, her smile a thin, red slash. “Elisa, darling. We need to talk. About your future.”

She looked around the sleek, modern cafe with barely concealed disdain, taking in the tech executives having quiet meetings nearby, her lip curling.

“Charming,” Rosalind said, her tone implying the exact opposite. “Very… corporate.”

“What do you want?” Elisa repeated.

Allena pulled off her sunglasses. Her eyes were red, her face blotchy. “You humiliated me,” she hissed. “On national television. You made me look like a fool.”

“You did that yourself,” Elisa said calmly. “I just didn’t stop you.”

Rosalind stepped forward, placing a restraining hand on Allena’s arm. “We’re not here to rehash the past, Elisa. We’re here to offer you a way out. A dignified exit.”

𝗪e 𝘶р𝗱𝘢tе 𝘦𝘷𝗲𝗋𝗒 𝘄𝘦𝗲k o𝗇 𝘨а𝗅nо𝗏𝘦𝗹ѕ.𝘤𝗼m

Allena reached into her Hermès bag and pulled out a thick document. She tossed it onto the coffee table, and it landed with a heavy thud.

“Sign it,” Allena said, her voice trembling with anger. “Just sign it and disappear.”

Elisa didn’t touch it. “What is it?”

“A divorce settlement,” Rosalind explained, her voice smooth and condescending. “Germaine has already approved it. You sign this, you agree to leave New York, to never speak to the press, and you walk away with a very generous sum.”

She named the figure. “Fifty million dollars.”

Elisa stared at her. The number hung in the air, meant to be a knockout blow, a sum so vast that a girl from the Appalachian mountains couldn’t possibly refuse.

Rosalind smiled, a predator confident in its kill. “That’s more money than your entire family has seen in generations. You can go anywhere. Buy a little house in the country. Forget all about this silly war.”

Allena crossed her arms. “Take the money, Elisa. It’s the only win you’re going to get.”

Elisa looked from the document to their expectant, arrogant faces. A slow, icy sensation spread through her, but it wasn’t anger. It was a profound, almost physical disgust.

She reached for her coffee cup on the side table, took a slow, deliberate sip, savoring the heat and the bitterness, then set the cup back down with a soft clink.

Then she looked at Rosalind, and she spoke.

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