I bought it out of the company portfolio personally and I'm transferring it to you. The severance is a lump sum. $200,000. " Victoria stared at him, bewildered. To a billionaire, 200,000 was a bar tab. To a woman who currently had nothing, it was oxygen. "Why? " She asked, her voice shaking.
"After everything I did to you, after what I said to you, why are you giving me anything? " "Because I know what it feels like to stand in the dark and wonder how you're going to feed your family tomorrow. " Aiden said. "I don't want anyone to feel that way, not even you. He sat back in his chair. It's enough money to live on while you figure out your next steps. Go back to school.
Get a job that actually builds something. Figure out who Victoria is without a billion dollars behind her name. But this is it. This is the last time you will ever step foot in this building. And it is the last time we will ever speak.
Victoria held the envelope against her chest. Her eyes were bright with unshed tears. She didn't say thank you. The pride wouldn't let her go that far. But she gave him a slow, jerky nod.
She turned and walked out the door. Aiden watched her go. The ghost of his past had finally been exorcised. That evening, Aiden didn't work late. At 5:00 p.m., he shut his laptop, walked to the elevator, and went home.
Home wasn't a penthouse. It was a comfortable four-bedroom house in a quiet, tree-lined neighborhood in Queens. There were no marble floors, just warm oak. When he unlocked the front door, the smell of garlic and roasting chicken filled the air. Dad!
Lily came sprinting down the hallway. Her cheeks were pink, her eyes bright, and the terrible hollow cough was entirely gone. She crashed into his legs, and Aiden hoisted her up, spinning her around until she shrieked with laughter. "How was school, bug? " he asked, burying his face in her shoulder. "I got a gold star in math," she said proudly.
"And the radiator in my room is too hot. I had to open the window. Aiden smiled. A real deep smile that reached all the way to his chest. I'll go fix it, he promised.
He set her down and watched her run back toward the kitchen. Her bare feet patting softly against the warm floorboards. He walked over to the entryway table. There was a framed picture of Sarah there surrounded by fresh yellow carnations. Aiden touched the frame gently.
He couldn't fix the past. He couldn't buy back the time they had lost. But as he stood in the warm house listening to his daughter laugh, he knew he had won. He looked down at his feet.
He was wearing expensive shoes now, but he kicked them off anyway. He preferred the feeling of the solid ground beneath his feet. He had climbed to the top of the world, tore down the throne, and walked away. And for the first time in five years, Aiden Caldwell felt rich.