Chapter 3
Chapter 3 Ms. Sutton
The gates of Maple Ridge Estate opened for us.
The car pulled up in front of a sprawling estate that covered close to 32,000 square feet.
Two rows of household staff stood at the entrance, 16 of them in all.
As soon as I got out of the car, they all bowed together.
"Welcome home, Ms. Sutton."
I hadn't heard that in three years.
I walked into the main hall and found an old man with a full head of white hair sitting in a mahogany chair.
He wore a dark suit, and the coffee in front of him had already gone cold.
When he saw me, he stood up, his eyes filled with heartache, anger, and above all, restraint.
"You've lost weight," he said.
"Grandpa," I replied.
He was Arthur Sutton.
He had founded Sutton Group.
He was worth 27 billion dollars.
Three years ago, I went against everyone and married David.
Grandpa had told me David wasn't good enough for me, and back then I thought he was only being a snob about family background.
Now I finally understood.
It wasn't about family background.
It was about character.
"Sit down." Grandpa pointed at the chair beside him. "Have you eaten?"
"Yeah," I replied.
"You're lying," he said.
He tapped the table, and Harold brought over a plate of food right away.
I ate a few bites before he finally spoke.
"I know everything about the Langley family," he said.
"Yeah," I replied.
"That woman with the White name, what's her story?" he asked.
"She's Robert White's daughter, from White & Co. Trading. Their annual revenue runs around 67 million dollars."
Grandpa let out a cold laugh.
"Sixty-seven million dollars? Sutton Group makes that in a day," he scoffed.
"Grandpa," I said.
"I know you don't want to touch the family money." He fixed his eyes on me. "So what's your plan? Are you going to keep your head down?"
I set down my fork.
"I'm not hiding anymore," I said.
He looked at me for a few seconds.
"Go on," he said.
"GenTech Innovations, the Sutton Group subsidiary, lost 6.7 million dollars last year, right?" I asked.
He nodded.
"I want that company," I said.
"Why?" he asked.
"Give me six months, and I'll make it profitable," I replied.
"How?" he pressed.
"Grandpa, do you want to hear my plan, or just wait for the results?" I retorted.
For the first time, he smiled.
"All right. The company's yours. Take whoever you need, spend as much as you want," he said.
"I don't need people. I need money, and I want 33 million dollars in working capital to start," I replied.
"That's all? 33 million?" he asked.
"That's enough."
He stood up and patted me on the shoulder.
"No daughter of the Sutton family should be humiliated in a house like that. Go do what you want to do," he said.
I stood up.
As I reached the door, Harold caught up with me.
"Ms. Sutton, your grandfather asked me to give you this," he said.
He pressed a key into my hand.
"It's the key to House 7 at Maple Ridge Estate. Four floors, all yours, with a private pool and a garden," he explained.
I accepted the key.
My phone rang, and it was Sophie.
"Grace, big news. Olivia made it official on Instagram. She and David are together, and they're getting engaged next month. The comments are full of congratulations, and plenty of people are dragging you."
"Send it to me," I said.
Sophie sent me the screenshots.
Olivia's post was a grid of nine photos, all of her and David together.
The caption read: [Three years of waiting, and the right time finally came.]
The comments were savage.
[Congratulations! David finally found someone who actually matches him.]
[I feel bad for the ex-wife. She had nothing going for her, and nobody ever understood how she landed him.]
[Heard she walked away with nothing? Guess she was just trying to marry up all along.]
I took a screenshot and saved it.
Then I opened my contacts and found a number I hadn't called in years.
"Mark, are you free to meet tomorrow morning?" I asked.
"Ms. Sutton? You finally called. Your grandfather said you might reach out," he replied.
"Come to GenTech Innovations at ten tomorrow," I said.
I hung up.
I stood on the balcony of Maple Ridge Estate, the city's lights spreading out beneath me.
Everything I had given up three years ago was still out there.
Now it was time to take it all back.