Winston slowly climbed the stairs to the stage.
For the first time since I had met him, the great titan of finance looked genuinely out of his depth.
He looked at me.
Then at Phoenix.
Then at Kendall.
“Allera,” he said hoarsely, “I didn’t know.”
“Of course you didn’t,” I replied. “You were too busy making money to protect it.”
I turned toward the crowd and smiled brightly.
“Thank you all for coming to the Winston Corp Gala,” I said. “And as a special treat, my husband and I have one more announcement.”
Beside me, Winston frowned.
“Allera, what are you doing?”
I ignored him.
“Effective tomorrow morning,” I announced, “I will be stepping in as co-chair of Winston Corp.”
Winston nearly choked.
“What?”
I turned my head just enough to look at him, keeping the smile fixed in place while my eyes stayed absolutely lethal.
“Oh, didn’t I mention it, darling? While you were busy letting your ex-wife terrorize my home, I had a little discussion with your board of directors.”
His jaw tightened.
“You staged a board coup.”
“I secured the bag,” I corrected.
I stepped closer, lowering my voice so only he and the children could hear.
“I showed them the reports proving you brought an international financial liability into the same house as your heirs. I showed them the footage of your domestic chaos. They were concerned about your judgment. But they adore me. I’m efficient. I protect assets. I make hard decisions.”
Winston stared at me.
His children stared at him.
The ballroom held its breath.
“You orchestrated this while living under my roof,” he said.
“You wanted an evil stepmother,” I murmured. “You wanted a babysitter. I’m an overachiever. I don’t just babysit children, Winston. I babysit empires.”
I smiled wider.
“You can shake my hand and let the market believe this is a graceful transition… or I can divorce you tomorrow, take a devastating share, trigger a stock collapse, and leave you with nothing but a broken reputation and a deeply unfortunate history with women.”
Phoenix smirked.
Kendall gave her father a tiny, cheerful wave.
His own children had helped me execute the coup.
Slowly, the tension left Winston’s shoulders.
He was, above all else, a businessman.
And businessmen recognized checkmate.
A strange, almost admiring smile touched the corner of his mouth.
“You really are a wicked woman, Allera,” he said quietly.
“The wickedest,” I agreed.
Then Winston turned to the crowd, wrapped one arm around my waist, and lifted my hand.
“To my beautiful wife, Allera,” he declared. “The new co-chair of Winston Corp.”
The ballroom erupted into applause.
Cameras flashed.
Champagne sparkled.
In the corner of my vision, the live feed flickered.
Live comment: She didn’t just beat the heroine. She became the final boss.
Live comment: All hail the evil stepmom.
Live comment: System shutting down. Target achieved. Absolute domination.
As the orchestra resumed and the room dissolved back into glittering luxury, Phoenix adjusted his cuffs and leaned toward me.
“Mom,” he said, “now that you’re co-chair, does my allowance go up?”
“Tomorrow,” I said, “we discuss buying a private island.”
Kendall sighed dreamily. “I love happy endings.”
I raised my champagne glass, the diamonds on my wrist catching the light.
I didn’t need a biological bond.
I didn’t need a tragic reconciliation arc.
I had a multi-billion-dollar empire, two fiercely loyal and deeply materialistic accomplices, and the best wardrobe in Manhattan.
Let the heroines keep their boiled noodles and broken romances.
I had already won.