Chapter 3
"Let the dust settle."
Mom's words echoed in my mind for three days, like a puzzle I just couldn't crack.
In those three days, everything changed in the Brown Residence.
Cora was now the new lady of the house.
The first thing Cora did was have the housekeeper pull out all the gardenias Mom had planted in the yard and replace them with her beloved roses.
She told everyone she was allergic to gardenia pollen.
She even fired the old housekeeper Mia for gossiping about her.
The new housekeeper was all respectful to her.
Relatives showed up every day, acting like they were there to comfort me, but really just fishing for gossip.
They crowded around me, all talking over each other.
"Avery, what's your mom thinking? Is she really just going to let this go?"
"That's billions in family assets! Is she really okay with just settling for that little bit of money?"
"You need to talk to your mom. We Browns can't just take this lying down!"
All their chatter was driving me crazy, so I just holed up in my room.
I went to find Mom.
She was still up in the attic, like the whole world could turn upside down and she wouldn't care.
She was going through old things I'd never seen before, from their younger days together.
There was a faded photo album, a pen with chipped paint, and a thick stack of letters.
"Mom, Cora's firing the old housekeeper," I said.
"Mm."
"And she even had all the gardenias in the yard ripped out," I added.
"Oh."
Her indifference was driving me insane.
"Don't you care at all? Are you really just going to let some outsider take everything from us?" I burst out.
Mom set the letters aside and looked up at me.
She said, "Avery, if someone wants to walk away, there's nothing you can do to make them stay.
"And if something was never meant to be yours, you can't make it yours, no matter how hard you try.
"What you need to learn now is how to tell what's really yours, and what isn't."
I couldn't understand.
Mom felt more and more like a stranger to me.
For three days, Cora was the hottest topic in the city's business circles.
Newspapers and financial magazines were buzzing with news about the Brown Group's share transfer.
The headlines were sensational.
[Obsessed CEO Leaves Fortune to His First Love on His Deathbed—Thirty-Year Romance Finally Comes True]
[Wife Endures Thirty-Six Years of Marriage, Leaves with Nothing to Her Name?]
Cora sat for an interview.
On camera, she was dressed simply and spoke earnestly, sounding genuinely sincere.
She said her feelings for Liam were genuine; she never asked him for anything.
She explained she was only taking over the company to fulfill Liam's last wish, and promised she'd do her best to run it well.
She even said she admired Jane, and thanked her for taking care of Liam all those years.
Her performance was flawless.
She was so convincing that even people online who'd been rooting for Mom started wondering if maybe Cora really was Liam's true love.
I showed Mom the newspaper.
She just glanced at it and smiled.
It was the first time I'd ever seen her smile; her lips barely curved, but her eyes were icy, dripping with sarcasm.
"The higher they put her on a pedestal, the harder she'll crash," she murmured.
Day three had finally come.
The Brown Group was about to hold a special board meeting.
The only thing on the agenda: welcoming Cora Perez as the new biggest shareholder.
Cora was up at dawn, meticulously preparing herself for her big moment.
She slipped into a tailored black Chanel suit, her makeup immaculate, and her hair styled so perfectly that not a single strand was out of place.
She strutted down the stairs in her Jimmy Choo heels, like a queen about to claim her crown.
When Cora spotted Mom and me sitting in the living room, she was caught off guard for a moment.
Then she flashed a victorious smile.
"Jane, Avery, are you coming to the company as well?"
She paused, feigning an apologetic tone.
"Oh, I almost forgot; you don't have any shares anymore. But it's fine, I'll have someone send your monthly dividends to your accounts on time. After all... we're family."
Her tone was full of charity, like she was tossing us scraps.
I was shaking with anger, about to snap back.
But Mom stood up.
She was dressed formally too, in a dark gray business suit, her hair simply pulled back with no fuss.
She wasn't wearing any makeup, but there was an indescribable aura about her.
"Ms. Perez," Mom spoke up.
Her quiet voice commanded the room, instantly silencing everyone.
"Of course we'll be attending the board meeting.
"Because it's time for some things to go back to where they belong."
Cora's smile froze for a moment, but she quickly slipped back into her graceful act.
"Jane, you're really something. Always joking around. Anyway, I'm in a hurry, so I'll head out," she said.
With that, she turned to leave.
But Mom's voice rang out behind her.
"If I were you, I'd skip the heels today.
"Because you might not be on your feet for long."