Elena Stone
I wasn't ready.
Not for this kind of reminder.
The email sat in my inbox like a quiet bomb, blinking softly with the subject line:
"Formal Invitation — CrossBridge Business Consortium."
I didn't need to scroll down.
I already knew who sent it.
I could smell the perfume of power, entitlement… and hypocrisy.
Madeline Hunter.
Her name wasn't there, but this had her fingerprints all over it.
Always the puppeteer, still pulling strings — now with Logan as her favorite puppet.
Logan Hunter.
My ex-husband.
The man who used to whisper promises against my skin…
…and then watched in silence as his mother tore me apart.
I swallowed, blinking hard at the screen. My reflection stared back — slick ponytail, bold lips, cold eyes.
No more soft girl.
No more Elena Avalor.
I am Elena Stone now.
And I don't melt anymore.
Dominic knocked once and stepped in without waiting. He always knew when to interrupt — and when to stay quiet. His dark eyes scanned my face before dropping to the screen.
"You're not going," he said, not even asking.
I almost smiled. He knew me too well.
"They've invited me three times now," I said softly. "It's getting aggressive."
"They're scared," he replied. "Your company's climbing too fast. You've taken five of their top clients in under four months. This 'business gathering' is just another chess move."
"More like bait," I muttered, fingers curling into my palm.
He stepped closer. "You don't need to see them yet."
I looked up at him — my silent protector.
Dominic Cross had been by my side since the night Mr. Faulkner died. He was just the security head back then. Now, he handled nearly everything: meetings, threats, media damage.
He never told me he loved me. But he didn't have to.
I pretended not to notice.
I leaned back in my chair, staring out at the glass city skyline. My heart should've been calm. But it wasn't.
Because no matter how high I climbed… I still heard her voice.
"You'll never be enough for my son."
"Poor girls don't marry into this family, they serve it."
"If you care about your parents at all, you'll walk away before I bury them in shame."
I remembered my father's face — red with humiliation as she offered him a blank check.
The way his hands trembled as he pushed it back across the table.
My mother's eyes shining with silent rage, silently pleading with me not to cry.
And Logan… standing behind her. Quiet. Frozen. A statue in a perfectly tailored suit.
He didn't even blink.
They think I've forgotten.
They think Elena Stone is just a name.
But I carry the ashes of Elena Avalor with me.
And when I'm ready… I'll burn the whole Hunter empire to the ground with it.
Not yet.
But soon.
I closed the laptop gently and looked up at Dominic.
"Decline the invitation," I said.
He nodded. "Anything else?"
"Yes," I whispered, eyes still on the city.
"Make them wait."