Chapter 9 - The Real Celebration
One year after the marinara incident, my estate looked very different.
It wasn't set up for a two-hundred-person sponsored media circus.
It was set up for forty people—my closest friends, my business partners, Ethan (who had become a dear, trusted friend), and my team.
We were throwing a charity gala to raise money for a local shelter for women escaping domestic abuse and financial exploitation.
Warm string lights hung low over the back lawn. Music drifted from a soft acoustic quartet near the stone terrace. Long wooden tables were set with simple white candles, wild flowers, and beautiful crystal glasses.
I wore a stunning emerald green gown, my hair cascading over my shoulders, holding a glass of vintage champagne as I looked out over the crowd.
My assistant walked up beside me, handing me a glass of sparkling water. “Everything is perfect, Maddie. We’ve already raised over two hundred thousand dollars tonight.”
“It is perfect,” I smiled, taking a slow breath of the warm evening air.
Near the garden entrance, I saw a familiar figure standing beside the security gate.
It was my mother.
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She wasn't trying to force her way in. She was wearing a simple navy dress, holding a small bouquet of white roses, looking at the glowing lights from outside the perimeter.
I hesitated for a moment, then set my champagne glass down and walked down the stone path toward her.
