Sabrina looked down at her lap with an expression of deep shame while some of the cousins began to check their phones to see if the news had already broken in the press.
“Elena, I truly had no idea that you were capable of such things, and I think we can find a way to start over and fix the mistakes of the past,” Dominic said.
Lydia suddenly changed her tone and tried to offer me a watery smile as she realized that her entire future now depended on the mercy of the woman she had despised.
“My dear daughter, please forgive an old woman who was only trying to protect her family’s legacy because you know how protective mothers can be,” she said.
“No, Lydia, you were never trying to protect your family, but instead you were simply fueling a cycle of cruelty and arrogance that has finally caught up with you,” I replied.
One of the lawyers on the screen cleared his throat and informed the group that the credit line for the Weston Group would be officially terminated at the start of business tomorrow.
Dominic became frantic and started pacing the terrace while he realized that his cars, his club memberships, and his mother’s mansion were all about to vanish into thin air.
“You cannot do this to us because there are hundreds of employees who depend on that company, and my mother has nowhere else to go if we lose the business,” he cried.
“That is exactly why I did not shut it down sooner, because the honest employees will be taken care of and moved to my new management team immediately,” I told him.
“The only thing that is ending today is the unearned privilege of a family that confused a famous last name with actual human worth,” I said with finality.
Lydia began to sob into her hands, but her tears were far too late to change anything because they only appeared once she realized her jewelry and status were gone.
Dominic reached out to grab my hand in a final, desperate attempt to win me back, but I stepped back and looked at him with nothing but cold indifference in my eyes.
“I loved you, Elena, and I hope you can remember the good times we had before everything became so complicated between our families,” he lied.
“No, Dominic, you never loved me, but you certainly loved the feeling of power you got from thinking that you were superior to the woman you married,” I said.
I signaled to Marcus who was standing near the entrance and the security feed of the main gate appeared on the screen to show that their ride out of the estate was ready.
“Thank you all for coming to my Easter dinner, and you will be pleased to know that this gourmet food will be donated to a local soup kitchen tonight,” I announced.
“Are you actually kicking us out of your house after we traveled all this way to see you?” Lydia shouted as she stood up with a flare of her old temper.
“In this house, we make sure to collect and remove the trash on Tuesday mornings, and since today is effectively your Tuesday, it is time for you to leave,” I said.
The thirty two members of the Weston family walked away in a heavy, miserable silence without any of the toasts or cheers they had planned to use against me.
As the last vehicle disappeared through the iron gates and the dust settled on the long driveway, I sat down and took a deep breath of the fresh mountain air.
I did not feel a burning need for vengeance or a desire to gloat, but instead I felt a profound sense of peace that I had not known for many years.
True wealth was never about the size of the house or the balance in the bank account, but rather it was the ability to close the door on people who only valued you for what they could take.
THE END.
