Page 148 of Lavish
“You can rewrite history all you want, but youknowthe truth. We built this town with the Whitmores. You used to smile in their faces. Let their checks fund your galas. Now you wanna pretend like we were always better than them?”
Mama stiffened. “I built you for better than this, Serena.Better.”
“No,” I said, the word like iron in my throat. “You built a version of me that servedyou.That kept quiet. That smiled andnodded and outperformed and outmaneuvered, because God forbid Ifailorfeelor be anything less than perfect.”
She tried to cut in, but I wasn’t done.
“Did you teach me anything, Mama?” I kept going. “Or were you too busy putting a crown on Laurene’s head? Taking Erik to board meetings? Only looking at Gigi when she became a liability?”
I stepped closer, the heat rising in my chest.
“And me? I’ve been your cleanup crew. Your strategist. Your buffer. I’ve been everything foreverybody—and you didn’t even notice or have the fucking decency to care about me.Your daughter.”
Mama’s face was unreadable. “You wanna throw this fit now?”
My laugh came sharp and humorless. “This isn’t a fit. This is me finally waking the hell up.”
“I gave youeverything,” she hissed.
“Maybe, but not everything!” I shouted. “I shouldn’t have had tofightfor my own mother’s love!”
For a moment, we just stood there, breathing hard, locked in a war a decade in the making.
“Love and attention, that’s all I wanted,” I said. “For you to take the time, between all your power moves and your damn obsession with controlling everything, to look at me.Seewhat my strengths were. Just like you invested into Erik and Laurene. It’s that simple, Mama.
“Don’t worry about taking the company from me, I came here to tell you I quit.”
“Rena—” Erik said.
“No, Erik. I’ve spent too many years pouring into this family, I didn’t give anything to myself. I’m leaving, I’m taking my work with me and spending time with my man.”
Mama’s eyebrows lifted.
“I won’t be used. I won’t be treated like a bargaining chip. Or the backup daughter. Until you can pull your own head out of your ass and treat me with the same reverence you give Erik and Laurene, Mama…we’re done. Don’t call me. Don’t ask for me. Don’t look for me until you can look me in the eye and take accountability for what you’ve done.”
Then I turned and walked away. Not a stumble. Not a look back. And for the first time in my life, I didn’t feel like I was breaking apart.
I felt like I was finally whole.
CHAPTER 34
Miles
I parked farfrom the bar, finding the cool night air refreshing as I leaned against my car.
You’re doing the right thing, Miles.
Protecting Serena was my priority. After that, my family. I needed Victor’s real story.
A car pulled in, its lights blinding before it crawled toward me, and the door opened.
“You’re Whitmore?” he asked.
My mouth was dry. “It depends.”
The man stepped forward.
Late middle-aged, unremarkable face. Average height and build. Worn jacket, scuffed boots, weary eyes.
