Then I saw her—a familiar figure near the entrance.
"Mom! What are you doing here?"
The moment she spotted me, the tight anxiety on her face cracked into relief.
She looked me over, caught between excitement and heartache.
"Sweetheart, how did you get so thin?"
"I saw that video online."
"Something this big happens, and you don't even tell your own mother."
"I wanted to come see you. I couldn't remember your home address, so I thought I'd try the office."
"But the security guards downstairs blocked me. They flat-out refused to let me in."
Her clothes were covered in dust.
On the back of her hand was a scrape she'd tried to hide.
She'd clearly been shoved down more than once.
Anger and panic twisted through me at the same time.
I grabbed her hand and started pulling her inside.
We barely reached the door before Shelagh stepped in front of us, arm out.
"Stellaris isn't the kind of place just anyone walks into."
"A grubby village woman and a useless waste of space who stinks of piss."
"You two would fit in better at the homeless shelter next door."
I didn't want to make a scene in front of my mother.
Every ounce of will I had went into keeping my fury locked down.
"Employees can bring family into the lounge. Step aside."
Shelagh's grin stretched wider.
She pointed at the pile of junk next to the trash can, satisfaction all over her face.
"Oh, forgot to mention. You've been fired."
"And as for the five million in damages for tarnishing the company's reputation..."
"I know your salary wasn't much. You can't pay it back."
"Tell you what. Get on your knees, knock your forehead on the floor for me, and I'll waive the whole thing."
"Call it compensation for all those years you spent looking after Drew for me!"
She held up her phone as she spoke.
Ready to record me losing control again.
My mother didn't understand any of this.
She'd lived in the countryside her whole life, and the astronomical number coming out of Shelagh's mouth drained the color from her lips.
Trembling, she started to lower herself to her knees for me.
Shelagh seized the moment, walked up close, and dropped her voice.
"Want to know why you lost that baby?"
"Drew and I worked it out together. We swapped your vitamins for abortion pills."
"Because he never wanted a child with you. And he doesn't want you at this company anymore."
"In his eyes, you're garbage. Used up and thrown away."
So that was it.
That was how it happened.
Drew decided the company was running smoothly enough that he didn't need his stepping stone anymore.
But they'd underestimated me.
I didn't get this far on Drew Henson's charity.
Everything I have, I fought for with my own two hands.
The guards were forcing my mother to her knees.
I tore free, seized Shelagh by the back of the head, and slammed her skull into the wall.
