My mom invited everyone to her 60th birthday, except me and my 8-year-old. She wrote: “All my children brought this family respect—except Erica. She chose to be a lowly single mom. I no longer see her as my daughter.” I didn’t cry. Next time she saw me, she went pale because…
Chapter 1: The Forgotten Invitation
I stood by the window of my Gold Coast penthouse, looking down at Lake Michigan, covered in a thin layer of February ice. In my hand was a gold-plated invitation, smelling of expensive perfume, but the contents inside reeked of decay.
It was an invitation to my mother Linda Sterling’s 60th birthday party.
She had sent it to everyone: relatives, business partners, even the neighbors she hated intensely. But she hadn’t sent one to me. She sent me an email, attaching a photo of the invitation, along with a piece of text that I printed out and taped to my vanity mirror to remind myself every morning.
“Erica, don’t be there. I don’t want to be embarrassed in front of my friends. All my children bring respect to this family—except you. You chose to be a mediocre single mother, doing that damn desk job instead of marrying a decent man. I don’t consider you my daughter anymore. Keep your bastard child away from my party.”
I reread the words. “Mediocre single mother.” “Damn desk job.”
My mother, and the entire Sterling family, were obsessed with image. My brother, Brad, was a polished CFO. My sister, Jessica, was married to a state senator. In their eyes, I—Erica, who got pregnant at 22, refused to reveal the father’s identity, and chose to work in crisis management instead of modeling or being a lady—was a stain.
They think I’m a low-paid, struggling office worker. They’ve never visited me. They’ve never asked what I really do.
They don’t know that my “desk job” is running Vance & Associates, a leading crisis management consulting firm in America. My clients are billionaires, multinational corporations on the verge of collapse. I’m the person they call when they want to clean up huge piles of garbage before the press gets wind of it.
I didn’t cry when I read my mother’s email. Tears are a luxury I gave up at age 22.
I looked down at Lily, my 8-year-old daughter, playing the piano in the living room. She’s an angel, the driving force behind my empire. And she called her “a bastard.”
My phone rang. It was Arthur, my senior assistant.
“Boss,” Arthur’s voice was tense. “The file on Sterling Industries is complete. Worse than we thought.”
Sterling Industries is my mother and brother’s family business.
“Tell me,” I commanded.
“They went bankrupt six months ago. Brad embezzled $20 million from employee retirement funds to invest in cryptocurrency and lost it all. Jessica and her husband used the company to launder money for an interstate drug trafficking gang. And her mother… Linda, she guaranteed all those loans with her mansion and all her personal assets.”
I smirked. A cold smile reflected on the glass.
“They’re having a birthday party with high-interest loans, aren’t they?”
“That’s right. They’re trying to show off to attract one last angel investor tonight. That’s their only hope of not getting caught on Monday morning.”
“Who is that investor?”
“An anonymous investment fund called Phoenix Holdings.”
I twirled the ring on my finger. Phoenix Holdings. That was my personal fund.
“Arthur,” I said. “Get the car ready. And call the legal team. We’re going to a party tonight.”
Chapter 2: The Vultures’ Party
The Drake Hotel was resplendent with lights. The Grand Ballroom was adorned with thousands of white roses and golden silk ribbons.
My mother, Linda, stood on the platform, radiant in her custom-made Chanel evening gown. She wore the diamond jewelry set that I knew she’d secretly mortgaged her Florida vacation home to rent.
Brad stood to the right, a glass of Champagne in hand, exchanging fake smiles with the guests. Jessica stood to the left, arm in arm with her dignified Senator husband. A perfect family picture. Perfect to the point of being artificial.
I entered the lobby. I didn’t go through the back door. I went through the front door.
I was wearing an ivory Alexander McQueen Power Suit, sharply tailored to accentuate my powerful figure. My hair was styled in an updo. I held Lily’s hand; she wore a pretty black velvet dress.
My arrival caused a murmur in the crowd. No one recognized the “failed daughter” in this elegant woman’s image. But my mother did.
She was raising a toast, her smile freezing when she saw me. Her face turned pale.
Not from fear. But from anger.
She strode quickly down the stage, pulling me into a secluded corner near the bar. Brad and Jessica hurried after her, forming a menacing circle.
“What the hell are you doing here?” my mother hissed, trying to maintain a polite smile so no one would suspect anything. “I told you not to come! You want to embarrass me in front of the investors? Look at you, how much did you pay to rent that outfit? Are you here to beg for money?”
“Me?”
“Erica,” Brad interjected, a look of disdain on his face. “Go home. There’s no place for a lowly secretary here. And don’t let your little girl run around breaking things. You won’t be able to pay for it.”
“Please, have some sense,” Jessica wrinkled her nose. “My husband is running for re-election. We don’t want to be associated with… the lower class.”
I looked at them. Three blood relatives. Three vultures scavenging on the corpse of their own honor without realizing it.
“Mom,” I said, my voice calm. “I received your email. You said I don’t bring respect. You said I’m mediocre.”
“That’s right!” she snapped. “Look at your siblings. They’re the best. You’re a failure.” “Now get out of here before I call security.”
“Security won’t kick me out,” I said.
“Who do you think you are?”
“I’m the person you’ve been waiting for.”
She looked bewildered. “What nonsense are you talking about?”
“Angel investors,” I said. “Phoenix Holdings. Their representatives are here.”
Brad’s eyes lit up. “What? They’re here? Where? Are you working for them? Show me!”
I smiled.
“Go out to the main hall. They’re about to announce their investment decision.”
The whole family hurriedly adjusted their clothes, leaving me standing there, and rushed to the center of the auditorium like dogs seeing a bone. They climbed onto the stage, grabbed microphones, and prepared to receive their “savior.”
Chapter 3: The Curtain Falls
“Ladies and gentlemen!” Brad said into the microphone, his voice trembling with nervousness. “Tonight is a special night.” “We are honored to welcome representatives from Phoenix Holdings, our strategic partner who will take Sterling Industries to new heights!”
Applause erupted. Spotlight swept across the auditorium, searching for the mysterious billionaire.
And the light stopped on me.
I, Erica Vance, was still standing there, holding a glass of orange juice for Lily.
Brad frowned. “Technician! Adjust the lights! Why are you shining them on that girl?”
But the lights didn’t move.
From the wings, Arthur – my assistant – emerged. He held a stack of documents, walked straight to me, and bowed respectfully.
“Mrs. Vance, all the formalities are complete.” “We may begin.”
The entire auditorium fell silent. My mother stood on the stage, her hands gripping the podium, her face pale. She looked at me, then at Arthur, then back at me.
I took Lily’s hand and walked slowly onto the stage. The sound of my high heels clicking on the wooden floor echoed sharply.
I stood before my family. I didn’t need a microphone. The silence of the crowd was the best amplifier.
“Hello, Mom,” I said. “Hello, Brad.” “Hello, Jessica.”
“You… what are you doing?” Brad stammered.
Arthur stepped forward, handing Brad a gold-plated business card.
ERICA VANCE
CEO & FOUNDER – PHOENIX HOLDINGS & VANCE ASSOCIATES
Brad dropped the business card. Jessica gasped. My mother looked like she was about to faint.
“Phoenix Holdings is yours?” my mother whispered.
“Yes,” I nodded. “I’m the investor everyone’s been waiting for. I’m the one who’s been buying up the company’s bad debts for the past six months. And I’m the only one who can save this family from jail on Monday morning.”
I pulled out the file Arthur had prepared from my bag.
“Brad,” I looked at my brother. “I know about the $20 million embezzlement. I have all the bank statements and money orders.”
“Jessica,” I turned to my sister. “Does your husband know about your money laundering?” “Or are you planning to drag his entire political career down into the mud with you?”
“And Mother,” I looked at the woman who had given birth to me. “You mortgaged this house. You mortgaged your future. If Phoenix Holdings doesn’t inject capital by 9 a.m. Monday, the bank will seize everything. You’ll be homeless at 60.”
The entire room gasped in horror. The high-society guests began to back away, avoiding the Sterling family like the plague. They realized the glamorous facade was nothing but a lie.
My mother trembled. She looked at me, her eyes shifting from contempt to fear, and then to pathetic pleading.
“Erica… my daughter…” she stepped forward, trying to take my hand. “I… I’m sorry. I didn’t know… I just wanted to push you… You’ll save the family, right? We’re blood relatives!”
Brad also knelt down. “Sister! I was wrong! I was just joking!” “Sign the check! You have to sign!”
I looked at them. The puppets were writhing as the strings were cut.
I turned to Lily.
“Lily, do you remember what Grandma wrote in the email?”
Lily, the intelligent eight-year-old, took the printed email from her small bag and read it aloud into the microphone I handed her:
“I no longer consider her my daughter. Keep your bastard child away from my party.”
The child’s voice was clear but cruel.
My mother collapsed to the floor. She knew her own words had become a death sentence.
“You see,” I said, taking back the microphone. “You disowned me. You called me an outsider.” “And in business, Phoenix Holdings doesn’t invest in junk companies, corrupt ones, and those run by unethical people.”
I tore up the investment contract in front of them.
“I didn’t come here to save you. I came to carry out the Liquidation Process.”
dation).
I gestured to Arthur.
“As the largest creditor, I request that all existing assets here be frozen to ensure the execution of the judgment. The party is over.”
Chapter 4: The Twist of the Illegitimate Child
The economic police and FBI stormed into the hall. I had called them before coming here. I wasn’t just an investor; I was a cooperating witness.
Brad was handcuffed for embezzlement. Jessica was arrested for money laundering. Her husband declared a divorce on the spot to save his career.
My mother sat on the floor, weeping bitterly as she watched her estate crumble. She crawled to my feet.
“Erica… I gave birth to you… I gave you life…”
“No, Mother,” I leaned down and whispered in her ear. “You gave me contempt. And it was that contempt that forged me into the person I am today.” “You should be proud, Mom.”
“But… who is Lily’s father?” she asked one last time, trying to find something to cling to, something to belittle me. “She’s illegitimate…”
I smiled.
“Lily isn’t illegitimate. And her father…”
I looked toward the front door. A man walked in. He was in a black suit, exuding an air of authority. It was Senator Davis, Jessica’s husband’s biggest political rival, and one of the most powerful men in Washington.
He walked over and lifted Lily up.
“Hello, daughter,” he said.
Everyone fell silent. Davis was the secret father? No.
“Davis is my first client,” I explained to the gaping mother. “And he’s Lily’s godfather. Lily’s biological father was a soldier who died heroically in Afghanistan, the one you forbade me from loving because he was poor.” “I kept his identity a secret to protect my daughter from the toxicity of this family.”
Davis looked at my mother with contempt. “Mrs. Sterling, you called my granddaughter a bastard? I think the court will be very interested in that detail when considering your bail.”
Chapter 4: Ashes and the Phoenix
My mother was taken away for questioning regarding complicity in financial fraud. She lost her home, her reputation, and even the “privileged” children she was so proud of.
I walked out of The Drake Hotel. The Chicago night wind was bitterly cold, but I felt warm.
Lily held my hand.
“Mom, where are we going?”
“Home, my dear,” I said.
“Back to the old house, Mom?”
“No. The old house burned down,” I looked back at the magnificent building behind us. “We are the Phoenix.” “We will rise from the ashes.”
I didn’t cry. I didn’t need their respect. I forced their respect by taking away the only thing they valued: money.
She turned pale not because I was rich. She turned pale because she realized that the “ordinary” daughter she had abandoned held the key to the cage that would imprison her for the rest of her life.
And that, was the sweetest revenge.
