Chapter 10 – The Woman Beside the Throne
Six months later...
Blackwood International reached record profits.
Employee benefits expanded.
Charitable foundations received millions in new funding.
The company felt different.
Kinder.
More human.
Grace still arrived early every morning.
She still carried coffee herself.
She still greeted every employee by name.
One afternoon Ethan invited the entire staff into the grand atrium.
No one knew why.
He stepped onto the stage.
This time...
Without a wheelchair.
Without bodyguards.
Without fear.
He called Grace forward.
Confused, she slowly approached.
Ethan looked into her eyes.
"When I lost everything..."
"You stayed."
"When everyone chased power..."
"You chose compassion."
"You never asked for recognition."
"But today..."
"You deserve it."
He handed her a small velvet box.
Inside was not a diamond ring.
It was a certificate naming Grace Miller a partner in the Blackwood Foundation and a permanent member of the Blackwood family board.
Tears filled her eyes.
The employees erupted into applause.
Months later, beneath the same marble patio where Victoria had once humiliated him, Ethan stood beside Grace.
The place that had witnessed betrayal now witnessed hope.
He smiled.
"The greatest fortune I almost lost..."
"...was never my company."
"It was the person who refused to leave when everyone else did."
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And this time...
Everyone remained standing to applaud.
