Chapter 5

The meeting with Eleanor Ashworth took place in a sun-drenched library in a Beacon Hill townhouse.

Books lined the walls from floor to ceiling, the scent of old paper and lemon polish in the air.

Eleanor, around seventy, was formidable. Old money etched into her posture, her direct gaze.

But beneath the stern exterior, Sarah sensed a flicker of something else, a carefully guarded warmth.

"Sarah," Eleanor said, her voice clear and strong, no hint of frailty. "You look like your mother."

It wasn't a question.

Eleanor explained the family history, the Ashworth legacy built over generations.

Fortunes made in shipping, then banking, now managed through a powerful foundation focused on arts, education, and historical preservation.

She spoke of Sarah' s mother, Amelia, with a mixture of pride and a deep, unvoiced sorrow.

"Your mother was brilliant, passionate. She chose her own path. I respected that, even if I didn't always understand it."

Eleanor confessed her regret over the years of distance, the misunderstandings.

"I should have reached out sooner. After Amelia... after your father passed."

She paused, her gaze softening for a moment.

"This trust, Sarah, it' s your birthright. Your mother would want you to have it. To be independent."

It wasn't just about money. Eleanor offered the backing of the Ashworth name, its resources, its influence.

"It' s time to reclaim your mother' s heritage," Eleanor stated, her eyes holding Sarah' s. "If you choose to."

Sarah felt a strength she hadn' t known she possessed bloom within her.

This wasn't just an escape route; it was a lifeline to a part of herself she' d thought lost.

"Yes," Sarah said, her voice firm. "I choose to."

Eleanor nodded, a ghost of a smile on her lips. "Good. We have much to do."

Before Sarah left Boston, Eleanor provided her with the name of a top divorce lawyer, a woman renowned for her discretion and tenacity.

"She will handle everything," Eleanor assured her.

Sarah returned to the Manhattan penthouse not as a victim, but as a woman with a plan.

She began meticulously documenting Ethan' s financial and personal indiscretions, every damning photo, every incriminating message, every hidden asset she could find.

The anger was still there, but now it was channeled, focused.

She was no longer just reacting. She was acting.