Victoria Rosewood spent two decades believing her younger sister abandoned the family for a man their father warned everyone about.

Two weeks after the boardroom coup, the sun shone brightly over the grand courtyard of the Rosewood estate.

The heavy iron gates, which had remained closed to Emily for two decades, stood wide open. Inside the manicured gardens, tables had been set up under white silk tents, adorned with thousands of white roses—Emily’s favorite flowers.

It wasn't just a corporate restructuring celebration; it was a homecoming.

Emily stood near the marble fountain, wearing a elegant emerald dress that Victoria had insisted on buying her. She looked around at the familiar stone pathways where she and Victoria used to play as children, feeling a strange, surreal sense of peace washing over her soul.

“Penny for your thoughts?”

Emily turned to see Thomas walking up beside her, wearing a sharp, tailored navy suit that fit him surprisingly well, though he still looked slightly uncomfortable without a wrench in his hand.

“I keep waiting to wake up,” Emily smiled softly, resting her head against his shoulder. “I keep thinking this is all some elaborate dream, and tomorrow morning I’ll be waking up in the Queens apartment trying to figure out how to pay the electric bill.”

“It’s not a dream, Em,” Thomas said, wrapping his arm around her waist and kissing the top of her head. “Your sister made sure of that. She’s transferring the full equity of the restored trust into your account as of this morning. You’re officially one of the wealthiest women in New York.”

“I don't care about the money, Thomas,” Emily whispered. “I care that my sister knows I never left her willingly. I care that Chloe has a future where she doesn't have to worry about tomorrow.”

Across the courtyard, Victoria was laughing—a genuine, carefree laugh that had been missing from her life for twenty years—as she chatted with Chloe about college applications and art programs. The young girl was smiling brightly, holding a sketchpad filled with architectural designs for a new community center funded by the family foundation.

Marcus Vance had taken a plea deal, agreeing to testify against any remaining co-conspirators in exchange for witness protection and a reduced sentence, effectively neutralizing the last legal threats from the old guard.

Victoria glanced over, catching Emily and Thomas’s eyes. She excused herself from Chloe and walked over, holding two crystal flutes of sparkling cider.

“To new beginnings,” Victoria said, handing a glass to Emily and one to Thomas.