Chapter 10 - The Horizon
Three weeks later, my office desk at my father’s firm was organized, my computer dual-monitored, and my morning routine consisted of strong coffee and actual analytical work that helped local small businesses manage their accounts.
My phone buzzed on the corner of the desk with an email notification.
It was a final closure notice from the university archive board, confirming that the digital metadata corrections had been permanently locked into the institutional database. Attached was a scanned copy of the newly printed gold-tier plaque, bearing my name without a single asterisk or footnote.
I downloaded the image, saved it to my desktop, and closed the browser tab.
My mother walked past my office door carrying a stack of tax ledgers, stopped, and smiled in. "Lunch is ready in the breakroom, Chloe. Your dad brought those pastries from the bakery down the street."
"Be right there, Mom," I said, saving my open spreadsheet.
As I stood up and stretched my arms, my phone buzzed one last time with a message from an unknown number—not Brendan, not Mason, and not Scarlett.
It was a short text from Marcus Vance:
The regional foundation board voted unanimously this morning to rename their annual arts grant after your undergraduate thesis project. Thought you should know.
I stared at the screen for a moment, a slow, genuine smile spreading across my face.
May you like
The ninety-nine revenge schemes were over. The La Jolla coast was hundreds of miles behind me. The girl who used to apologize for taking up space in Brendan’s life was gone, replaced by someone who knew exactly what she was worth.
I picked up my coffee mug, walked out of my office, and joined my parents in the breakroom, ready for whatever came next.
