Chapter 29 - THE WOMAN AT THE DOOR
One year after Richard's arrest, the foundation held its largest gathering yet.
Hundreds of women attended.
Entrepreneurs.
Inventors.
Doctors.
Designers.
Restaurant owners.
Engineers.
Single mothers.
Women who had once been told they were too poor, too inexperienced, too ordinary, or too ambitious.
Valeria stood at the entrance.
The beige handbag rested on a small display table beside a photograph of her mother.
Then she noticed a young woman standing outside.
She couldn't have been more than twenty-five.
She held a folder against her chest.
Valeria walked toward her.
“Are you looking for someone?”
The woman swallowed.
“I was told this place helps women start businesses.”
“It does.”
“I don't have much.”
Valeria smiled.
“You don't need much to begin.”
The woman looked toward the entrance.
“Do I have to know someone?”
“No.”
“Do I need collateral?”
“No.”
“Do I have to be rich?”
Valeria's smile softened.
“No.”
The young woman finally stepped inside.
Valeria watched her cross the threshold.
For one brief second, Valeria remembered the ballroom.
The wine.
The laughter.
The humiliation.
The moment she had walked toward her father's table with red wine dripping from her dress.
That woman had been fighting to prove she mattered.
This woman didn't have to prove anything.
May you like
That was the difference.
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