Chapter 139: Ex-family

The following week**

Selen walked through the lobby of the Vanguard office, her focus entirely on her new corporate responsibilities as she stared at her tablet.

As she headed for the elevator, she noticed two women sitting quietly in the reception lounge.

Selen stopped dead in her tracks. It was her step-sister, and her step-mother, Tola and Regina Williams.

They had managed to track her down through a calculated desperation from Tola’s husband. He had been trying to secure a corporate loan and investment backing from the Vanguard International Art Group to clear his own mounting commercial debts.

While reviewing the company’s newly updated leadership manifests, he saw Selen’s name and photograph listed at the very top of the London branch. He immediately passed the details to Regina and Tola who had mentioned Selen a number of times to him in the past.

And they saw it as their final chance to corner her before Attor passed away. They were dressed in faded, ill-fitting coats that differed completely from the high-society wealth they used to flaunt back then in London.

Tola looked completely broken, her face hollowed by stress and her hands trembling as she clutched her handbag. Selen’s eyes picked up on the cheap, scratched ring on Tola’s finger, she was clearly trapped in a miserable marriage now, stripped of the luxury she had once stolen for herself.

The moment Regina looked up and noticed Selen, she stood up frantically, nudging Tola. They did not try to hide behind their old arrogance. Instead, they ran across the polished lobby toward her, their expressions filled with a desperate, pathetic anxiety.

"Selen, please, just give us two minutes," Regina begged, her voice cracking as she came to an abrupt halt before Selen’s driver could even step forward to form a physical boundary.

Selen looked at them, her posture rigid and her dark eyes completely empty of warmth. The memory of what these people had done to her eight years ago reset vividly in her mind.

Her father, Attor Williams, along with Regina, had completely abandoned her. When Tola had accumulated a massive, ruinous gambling debt to the Avelino family, Attor and Regina had not hesitated for a single second. Instead of forcing Tola to face her own actions, they had literally given Selen up to the Avelinos as a human transaction, forcing her into a contract of exile just to pay off Tola’s debt.

They had sacrificed Selen to save their golden child, casting her out to the Avelino’s without a single shred of remorse.

"What are you doing in this building?" Selen asked, her voice dangerously low, and completely flat.

Tola stepped forward, tears spilling down her pale cheeks as she looked at Selen with pure dread. "Selen, our father is dead. Attor passed away in the hospital last night. His heart finally gave out." she said.

Selen felt absolutely no remorse. Her chest remained completely light, and her expression did not soften a single fraction.

Attor Williams had been a completely shitty, malicious father who had treated her like disposable capital. His death meant absolutely nothing to her. "If you came here expecting me to underwrite a lavish funeral or weep over a man who sold me to a billionaire to clear Tola’s debts, then you have wasted your time," Selen replied with an icy tone that left them completely speechless.

Regina instantly dropped her head, the words causing her to shake violently as she began to apologize profusely, her voice echoing in the quiet lobby.

"No, Selen, please! We did not come for money. We came because we are living in absolute hell now. We know what we did was completely monstrous. We used you as a shield, we traded your life to save Tola, and we have paid for that sin every single day since you left." she said.

"We are so incredibly sorry, Selen," Tola sobbed out, her hands reaching out in a frantic gesture of humility before she caught herself and pulled them back.

"My marriage is a complete nightmare. The man I married ruined our family name, took whatever capital dad had left, and treated me like garbage. I realize now that the misery I am trapped in is the exact karma for what we put you through, and we will regret it for the rest of our lives. Please, just hear our apology." Tola said with tears.

Selen stood entirely still, evaluating their pathetic display with judgment. Seeing them completely unraveled, suffering in the wreckage of their own toxic choices, did not give her a surge of petty satisfaction, it simply finalized the absolute clarity of her survival.

The family tree she had been forced to grow up on was dead, and she had successfully built her own independent line of defense without them.

"Your apology is noted," Selen said, her tone low, as she looked past them toward the elevator doors.

"But you need to leave this building now. My children and my life have absolutely nothing to do with the Williams family anymore. You chose your path eight years ago when you traded my life for Tola’s debt. Enjoy the life you have left." she said to them.

She left them and walked toward the elevator. She did not look back at her step-sister’s frantic weeping or her step-mother’s desperate calls.

As the doors closed, Selen took a deep breath. She could forgive the Avelino’s for what they had done to her for those months she stayed with them.

But her family were supposed to be her shield, her protectors, her people. But they did not think twice to hurt her everyday and tossed her away when needed.

She was completely done with the ghosts of her childhood as she prepared to return to the home where Clancy and her triplets were waiting.

**Newton**

The merger between their firms had just cleared the final checks when Newton walked into Clara Galileo’s office. He stood near her desk, a genuine smile touching his face.

"We have officially finalized the corporate baseline for the quarter, Miss Galileo," Newton said, his tone carrying charm. "I think that deserves a proper celebration. Let me take you to dinner tonight." he said.

Clara looked up, her eyes locking onto his with that same brilliant, encouraging smile from the terminal. "An excellent strategy, Newton. The fleet is running smoothly, and I would love to join you." she said with a smile equal to his.