Chapter 48

Avery’s POV

The hotel room was still cloaked in shadows when I woke, the faint orange glow of dawn just beginning to seep through the curtains. 

My head was heavy, but there was no time to linger. Today wasn’t about sleep-it was about making sure the company stood unshaken.

By the time I arrived at the office, the glass towers were catching the first blaze of sunlight, glinting like sharpened blades. Inside, everything felt different. 

The corridors were hushed, expectant, as though the very walls were holding their breath.

Marissa was already there, waiting in the conference room. 

Her suit was immaculate, hair pulled back, posture crisp as steel. 

In front of her, the projector was glowing again, this time with the words: Von Carter Group: Post-Restructuring Plan.

She looked up as I entered, her lips twitching into the faintest of smiles. “You’re on time. Good.”

I arched a brow, slipping off my coat. “Would you have expected otherwise?”

“Not from you,” she replied. “But from anyone else, yes.”

I smirked and took my seat. “Show me what we’ve got.”

Marissa clicked the remote, and the first slide appeared. “Finance-still under you. It’s not negotiable. Your name reassures the board, and it cements the message: leadership isn’t fractured.”

I nodded. “And operations?”

“Claire will take full control. She’s competent, loyal, and already respected among the employees. Samuel will oversee logistics independently-splitting them weakens the chance of another power grab like Deluca and Bianchi attempted.”

I leaned forward, eyes fixed on the chart. “And procurement?”

“Lena,” she said simply. “She’s steady, knows the system better than anyone else. And more importantly, she doesn’t have ambition beyond her department. That makes her safe.”

My fingers tapped against the table. “Safe is good. We’ve had enough ambition.”

Her lips twitched again. “Exactly.”

She moved to the next slide. “Legal and Compliance. The lawyers are already drafting the conditions. We’ll restructure contracts, tighten monitoring, and triple-audit every major deal moving forward. Nothing like Deluca and Bianchi’s fraud will happen again. They’ll be examples-public, loud, unforgettable.”

I inhaled slowly, letting the words settle. “Good. That’s exactly what we need.”

Marissa’s tone softened just slightly. “And we’ll keep the headlines running. This victory will last in the public’s memory. Avery Carter-the one who uncovered betrayal, cut it out, and restored order.”

I tilted my head, lips curling faintly. “You make it sound like a legend.”

“Maybe it should be,” she said, her voice steady. “Because legends don’t fade.”

She clicked once more, and the last slide appeared: Leadership Directive: Strength Consolidated.

“This is the future,” she said. “And you, Avery, are at the center of it. With you visible, the board stays loyal. Investors stay confident. Employees know they’re safe.”

I studied the screen for a long moment. The weight of it pressed on my chest, heavy, suffocating, but also strangely exhilarating. My father’s voice rang in my head-You have many things in your way. Be mature enough to tackle them.

I finally exhaled, leaning back in my chair. “It’ll work.”

“It will,” Marissa affirmed. Then she closed her laptop, folding her hands on the table. Her gaze sharpened, but her tone softened. “Now… what about you?”

I frowned faintly. “What about me?”

“You’ve carried this entire storm. Do you realize that?”

My jaw tightened. “I don’t have the luxury of realizing it. Not yet.”

Marissa gave a small nod, a flicker of something almost like sympathy in her eyes. “Then let me say it for you. You’ve done what most couldn’t. And today, we’re not just surviving-we’re moving forward.”

The lawyers entered again, confirming details, finalizing signatures, and laying out the legal path. 

Each word, each clause, sounded like another chain snapping shut around Deluca and Bianchi. 

By the time they left, I felt the first true clarity since the chaos began.

As the door closed behind them, Marissa turned to me. “It’s done. By the end of today, both of them will be locked beyond reach. And tomorrow…” she tilted her head, “…the company runs without them. Smooth. Efficient. Yours.”

I let out a slow breath, the corner of my lips curving upward. “Then tomorrow begins a new chapter.”

Her gaze held mine, unwavering. “Yes. A Von Carter chapter.”

I stayed in that office long after she left, staring at the final slide glowing against the wall. Strength Consolidated. It wasn’t just a slogan. It was a vow.

The office had emptied long ago. 

The hum of the city outside was faint, dulled by the thick glass walls, leaving me alone with the echo of my thoughts. The conference room was dark now, the projector off, the slides gone-but the words still glowed in my mind.

Papers were scattered before me, notes from lawyers, charts from Marissa, signatures waiting for tomorrow’s seal. 

I should’ve gone back to the hotel hours ago, but my body felt too heavy to move. 

It was like the moment I stood, everything holding me upright might collapse.

So, I stayed seated, staring at the empty glass of water on the table, listening to the faint buzz of the city that never truly slept. 

For the first time in days, no one was demanding an answer from me. No accusations, no arguments, no witnesses waiting for my voice to steady theirs.

Just silence.

And that was when my phone lit up.

I blinked, half-expecting another message from Marissa, or a late update from legal. But the name glowing on the screen wasn’t Marissa.

It was her.

Tiffany.

I hesitated only a heartbeat before swiping to answer. “Hello?”

Her voice came soft through the speaker, carrying the faintest lilt of teasing warmth. “So, this is what it takes to get your attention these days? Me calling first?”

I shut my eyes, a smile tugging despite my exhaustion. “I was going to call…”

“Mhm.” Her tone was amused, but underneath, I caught something deeper. Concern. “But instead, you buried yourself in work again, didn’t you?”

I leaned back in my chair, staring at the ceiling. “You’re not wrong.”

“Of course I’m not,” she replied. “I saw the news, Avery. The conference. The arrests. Everything. And I thought-of course she’d find a way to carry the whole world on her shoulders.”

My throat tightened. “Tiffany-“

“No, listen to me,” she interrupted softly. “You did what you had to. And I’m proud of you. But don’t tell me you’re fine when I can hear in your voice that you’re not.”

I bit my lip, unable to form an answer. The silence between us hummed, fragile, intimate.

Finally, I whispered, “You always see through me.”

“Always,” she murmured.

I exhaled, letting the weight slip from my chest just a little. “It’s over. They’re done. Tomorrow, the company starts again. But… sometimes I wonder if there will ever be an end to this. To all the expectations. To being Avery Carter-the one who fixes everything.”

There was a pause. Then her voice dropped, gentler than I’d ever heard it. “And what about just being Avery?”

The question cracked something open inside me. For a moment, I couldn’t speak.

“…I don’t know if I remember how to be just her.”

On the other end, she sighed softly. “Then let me remind you. When you come back, when you’re here again-let me remind you of what it feels like to be more than your family’s shadow. More than their heir. Just… you.”

I swallowed hard, blinking against the sting in my eyes. “Tiffany…”

Silence lingered, thick, trembling. And then, her voice shifted-lower, almost like a secret spilling out.

“You don’t have any idea, do you? How much I miss you. How much I want you near me. How much I miss you when I’m in my doing nothing or doing something, wishing you were there.”

My breath caught. The words landed heavy and electrifying, stealing the air from my lungs.

And before I could reply-before I could even find my voice-she whispered, “Goodnight, Avery,” and the line went dead.

I sat there in the dark, the silence pressing harder now, my heart pounding like I’d just run a marathon.

I replayed her words again and again, the heat of them refusing to fade.

“You don’t have any idea… how much I miss you… how much I want you near me…”

I pressed the phone against my lips, closing my eyes, fighting the storm inside me.

For once, it wasn’t the board, or the lawyers, or the company that had me breathless.

It was her.

And God help me, I wanted her too.